Greece holds 2nd renewables auction for 2018

Greece has held the second auction for capacities from renewable energy sources for 2018, with lower prices achieved than in the first regular auction held earlier in the year reflecting investor confidence and an anticipation of a further decrease in equipment costs and higher yields, energypress reported.

Lower costs, now comparable to those of conventional energy sources, are crucially important for the sector’s development, Greek Minister of Environment and Energy Giorgos Stathakis said.

The prices achieved in the Greek auctions reached levels seen in major European markets, the portal wrote, citing unnamed sources as saying that the biggest price drop was recorded in the auction for wind energy installations of between 3 MW and 50 MW, to between EUR 55 per MWh and EUR 65.15 per MWh.

Successful bidders in this category included Terna, Rokas, Portugal’s EDPR, Volterra, and Ostria. Representing 14 projects with a total capacity of 281.65 MW, they vied for 160.94 MW, the portal wrote.

In the category for small-scale photovoltaic (PV) installations of up to 1 MW, the lowest price was EUR 64 per MWh and the highest EUR 69 per MWh. Bidders representing 180 projects with a total capacity of 102.19 MW contested for 61.95 MW.

In the session’s remaining category, offering capacities for larger-scale PV installations of between 1 MW and 20 MW, bidders representing a large proportion of projects totaling roughly 35 MW secured capacities at prices of approximately EUR 63 per MWh, according to the unnamed sources.

Investors representing 27 projects with a total capacity of 151.32 MW contested for 86.47 MW in this category.

The Solar Cells group acquired capacities for four projects at elevated prices, while PPC Renewables secured satisfactory price levels of just below EUR 70 per MWh, according to the sources.

Greece’s energy regulator, RAE, auctioned off a total of 277.32 MW in wind and solar (PV) capacities in its first regular competitive auction, held on July 2, obtaining prices lower than in the December 2016 pilot tender.