Greek government supports businesses to install batteries with subsidies of up to half of investment

The Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy launched the Energy Storage for Businesses program. Subsidies for installing batteries amount from 30% to 50% of the costs.

According to the official program guide published in December, smaller businesses that install batteries will receive the largest subsidies, 50%. Medium-sized firms get 40% and large companies 30%. The beneficiaries are eligible for assistance with technical studies and connection to the grid.

Overall, the program’s budget is EUR 153 million, with EUR 100 million directed towards small and very small businesses and EUR 53.7 million for medium and large ones.

The main grant is as much as EUR 400,000 per MWh for the purchase and installation of batteries with a duration of one hour including accompanied equipment such as smart meters and wiring.

The ceiling is EUR 350,000 per MWh for systems with a storage duration of between one and two hours. A separate EUR 40,000 limit is set per application for the purchase of an energy management system.

The remaining support is EUR 5,000 per MWh to EUR 20,000 per MWh available per firm for technical studies, while up to EUR 15,000 per application can be approved for advisory services and up to EUR 5,000 is intended per battery for the grid connection.

Energy storage a pressing need

Originally, the program was planned to support the installation of photovoltaics for businesses, but the ministry switched to batteries because of network requirements.

Solar power production around noon has been consistently larger this year in Greece than demand. It leads to an increase in curtailments of renewable electricity plants and the need to add storage as soon as possible at every level of the grid.

The government initially aims for 900 MW in standalone batteries at the transmission level within the next few years. The new program for firms is for 500 MW. The ultimate goal for batteries is 4.3 GW by 2030, according to the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). Pumped storage hydropower plants are projected to add another 1.93 GW of storage.