Electricity

First battery energy storage auction call published in Greece for 400 MW

First battery energy storage auction call published in Greece for 400 MW

Photo: iStock

Published

June 19, 2023

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

June 19, 2023

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

Greece’s Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water (RAWEW) issued the call for the long-awaited first auction for battery energy storage systems.

It is the first in a series of battery storage auctions scheduled for this year, starting with 400 MW in capacity, and the first competitive process for energy storage in Southeastern Europe.

RAWEW said it set the ceiling at EUR 115,000 per MW per year. The participants will bid for 10-year contracts for difference (CfDs) for earnings from their future battery systems. The selected investors will also gain from grants of EUR 200,000 per MW to build their projects.

Developers are obligated to submit a letter of guarantee for EUR 35,000 per project in order to participate, as well as a letter for EUR 250,000 per MW for its timely completion and EUR 200,000 per MW for the proper operation of their installation.

RAWEW said it would receive bids until July 10 and examine them by August 9.

The regulatory body said the minimum coverage level is 100%. But in case the bids do not cover the offered capacity, the remainder will be transferred to the next auction. Furthermore, a minimum number of four participants has been specified, where no project can exceed 100 MW.

The battery projects must have a storage license from the regulator, a minimum of 1 MW in planned operating power and the ability to store at least 2 MWh per every megawatt. They are required to be connected to the country’s transmission grid.

The deadline for the selected systems to come online expires at the end of 2025. This year’s auctions benefit from EUR 200 million from the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility and EUR 100 million from the REPowerEU plan.

Timeframe for the next auctions

Greece is planning two more auctions this year. One is set for the third quarter, for 300 MW, plus what capacity remains from the first tender. The third bidding is scheduled to take place in the fourth quarter for 300 MW, bringing the total capacity for storage auctions this year to 1 GW.

In the licensing cycle in April, 23 applications for battery projects were submitted, with hundreds of megawatts in total.

It should be noted that the Greek electricity system has a high need for storage units to facilitate renewables deployment both in the transmission and the distribution grid, as they are heavily congested. Apart from battery projects, Terna Energy also has two large pumped hydro plants under development in the country pumped hydro plants under development in the country by Terna Energy.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

slovenia smart grids investments distribution grid

Slovenia’s EUR 150 million smart grid leap

18 June 2025 - The five electricity distribution firms in Slovenia will invest more than EUR 150 million by the end of March 2026

Spain voltage control insufficient April blackout

Spain’s voltage control was insufficient at time of April blackout

18 June 2025 - The total blackout in the Iberian Peninsula on April 28 was caused by overvoltage, with several factors contributing to the crash

Just Transition Young Voices Award Empowering youth champions in the clean energy transition

Just Transition Young Voices Award: Empowering youth champions in the clean energy transition

18 June 2025 - Young people from the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova can apply for the Just Transition Young Voices Award until 28 July 2025

eu nuclear energy plans investments 2050 pinc

EU nuclear ambitions: EUR 241 billion in investment needed by 2050

17 June 2025 - The European Commission has estimated investments needed for the member states' nuclear energy plans at EUR 241 billion until 2050