Greece installs 2.5 GW of solar in 2025 as utility segment dominates

Greece is expected to reach its 2030 goal early in solar installations, according to SolarPower Europe’s latest data.

The association expects Greece to achieve the goal of 13.5 GW this year. By the end of the decade, there will be 21.5 GW in installed solar capacity, based on the most probable scenario, up from 12.22 GW, estimated for 2025.

Greece added 2.5 GW, slightly lower than the record 2.6 GW increase of 2024, the update showed. It places the country at the number seven spot, behind Germany (17.6 GW), Spain (9.2 GW), France (6.7 GW), Italy (5.2 GW), Poland (3.7 GW) and Romania (2.5 GW).

Greece was the fourth-best country in Europe in terms of solar installations per capita, with 1,223 W, trailing the Netherlands (1,582 W), Germany (1,405 W) and Estonia (1,335 W), according to the estimate.

Net billing and delays stymied the rooftops segment expansion

A significant drop took place in the Greek rooftops and commercial and industrial (C&I) segments, as a result of the switch from net metering to net billing, as well as administrative delays. Utility-scale activity offset part of this decline, resulting in only a slight contraction for the year, SolarPower Europe said in its annual outlook. In total, 72% of new capacities were of utility size, with the rest being in all other categories.

Self-consumption systems have surpassed 1 GW in total capacity. While community solar projects account for nearly 20% of total installed photovoltaic capacity, most are not used for self-consumption, and their significance in terms of new installations is declining.

Future growth depends on storage and power demand

Looking ahead, SolarPower Europe considered Greece to be on a strong growth path, with utility-scale projects driving most new additions and a large storage programme expected to ease integration challenges later in the decade.

Residential and C&I segments continue to struggle with policy delays and the shift to net billing, while rising curtailment and low-price hours weigh on investor confidence, the association noted. About 8% of potential renewable energy generation is curtailed, and this rises to over 11% for PV output. The number of hours with zero or negative prices in the day-ahead electricity market almost doubled in 2025. Still, the number of hours impacting power plant revenue remains lower than in many other European countries.

While the overall market is expected to grow in the short term, further expansion is dependent on electricity demand growth, as well on the pace of deploying storage, grid upgrades and self-consumption rules.