Curtailments, negative prices slash solar power revenue in Greece by up to 60%

Solar parks in Greece that benefit from the main state support mechanism have lost an average 50% of revenue on a year-to-year basis in April. Amid a lack of energy storage, zero and negative electricity prices are becoming more frequent and last longer, alongside curtailments, which disproportionately affect facilities on the high-voltage grid. Some companies cited losses of up to 60%, and May could be even worse.

The loss of revenue from photovoltaic plants reached record levels last month, Energypress reported. It referred to the beneficiaries of the Greek so-called Operating Aid Contract for Difference, known by its domestic acronym SEDP. It is essentially a two-way contract-for-difference scheme, a sliding or floating feed-in premium that depends on wholesale power prices.

An average solar park in the category, above 400 kW, landed a stunning 50% lower last month than in April 2025. As the deployment of battery energy storage systems, BESS, is still lagging behind the solar power expansion, the day-ahead market is more and more at zero or in negative territory.

Moreover, production around midday when it is sunny, especially during lower electricity demand on weekends and holidays, often tilts the grid to overload. It prompts system operators to curtail a part of the PV fleet.

Losses rate doubles from March

The measure affects larger units, the ones on the transmission system, more than the facilities on the distribution level. Some companies told the news outlet that they lost as much as 60% in April versus a theoretical revenue without zero and negative prices and production limitations.

Notably, the year-over-year average loss was two times higher than in March in percentage terms. The current month doesn’t seem favorable at all – zero and negative prices were registered almost every day since the beginning of May, and they lasted for at least four hours each time.

At the same time, neighboring Bulgaria, which has the most battery storage in Europe, is importing electricity in daytime for selling it back at the evening peak prices.

Fear of non-performing loans avalanche

Executive Chairman of Metlen Energy and Metals, Evangelos Mytilineos, is expecting a wave of non-performing loans in the solar power sector, as quoted in the article. Soon the banks will start seizing the assets, in his view.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aktor Group Alexandros Exarchos has warned of a high risk of destabilization of the renewable electricity market in Greece.  He directly linked the ballooning curtailments to the possibility of non-performing loans totaling up to EUR 25 billion.