Greece may approve connection of renewable power plants of 6 GW in 2021

Admie, the power transmission system operator of Greece, expects to issue approvals for the connection of 6 GW to the grid this year for planned green power plants. Minister of Environment and Energy Kostas Skrekas estimates 10 GW in total would be added from 2021 to 2030, but investments in the network could boost the level.

Investors in power plant projects that will use renewable sources will get the green light this year to connect 6 GW to the grid in Greece, according to a forecast from the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or Admie), Euro2day reported. It compares to just 2.5 GW from 2019 and 2020 combined, when 152 units got approvals for the connection to the network.

The plan includes 2 GW in renewable energy capacity which is planned to replace lignite-fired thermal power plants, and 2.5 GW in total in small photovoltaic systems. Greece had 7.3 GW in power from renewable sources last year, the news website wrote.

NECP implies having 19 GW of electricity generation capacity from renewables in 2030

According to the National Energy and Climate Plan – NECP, from December 2019, the share in gross final energy consumption needs to reach 35% by 2030 and the overall capacity of power from renewable sources would climb above 19 GW.

Meeting the 2030 goal for Greece implies having 15 GW in power capacity from renewable sources, the report reads

The projection includes 7.7 GW in photovoltaics, 7 GW in wind power and 3.9 GW in hydropower plants. The levels for last year were seen at 3 GW, 3.6 GW and 3.4 GW, respectively, the document shows. NECP put the total installed renewable energy capacity in power generation at 10.1 GW for 2020.

The article adds that the 2030 goal implies at least 15 GW in power capacity from renewable sources but that Admie’s investments in grid development and interconnections would allow more. The national transmission system operator, TSO, earmarked EUR 6 billion for the current decade, according to the report.

Admie invests massively in linking islands with mainland

A major share of the expenditure is for linking islands with the mainland, which will allow them to ditch oil-fired generators and install green power plants and even send electricity elsewhere. Syros, Paros, Mykonos and Naxos were connected last year and Skiathos is scheduled to get a connection to Evia in 2022.

The company managed to fully install an interconnection with Crete, currently the world’s longest alternating current (AC) cable.

On the other hand, Minister of Environment and Energy Kostas Skrekas has just said the upcoming revision to zoning would make the criteria stricter and that he expects 10 GW to be added between 2021 and 2030. He noted there is more than 100 GW in projects in the pipeline.