Greece plans to end subsidies for battery energy storage systems

Due to the current curtailments of renewable electricity plants in Greece, batteries can operate in the market without subsidies, according to Minister of Environment and Energy Thodoros Skylakakis.

The main priority of the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy is to switch renewables from subsidy mechanisms to full market-based operations, Minister of Environment and Energy Thodoros Skylakakis. Speaking at the 28th Annual Economist Government Roundtable, he said it includes battery energy storage systems (BESS), Energypress reported.

Renewables are “very cheap” and batteries can operate in the market without subsidies, especially in times of curtailments of green energy, Skylakakis argued. “We will open up the storage market with a bill to be tabled in the next two months,” he said.

Obligatory guarantees for developers to be cut by 70%

At the same time, the minister announced a surprise 70% reduction in the required sums for the letters of guarantee for developers of renewable electricity generation projects.

Separately, in an interview with OneChannel, Skylakakis said the legislation would facilitate faster licensing for standalone battery units and behind-the-meter storage facilities for existing solar parks. Such systems won’t be entitled to any government support, either for operating or capital expenses (OPEX and CAPEX, respectively), he explained.

Third auction for subsidies for BESS under preparation nevertheless

According to an earlier news report, the ministry is still preparing Greece’s third subsidy auction for standalone batteries. The aim is to prevent curtailments and the events of negative wholesale power prices.

The announcement is expected by the end of the month and the deadline should apparently be set for early September. The article adds that facilities with a four-hour duration can qualify, while the requirement was two hours in the first two rounds. The quota would be 300 MW.

So far projects for 700 MW in total won support. The National Energy and Climate Plan foresees an overall 3.1 GW in battery storage for 2030.

The new bidding will be for projects in coal regions – Western Macedonia and the Megalopolis municipality – together with the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, the news website learned from unnamed sources.