Mitsotakis: Greece set to boost solar power share to 10% in 2022

“The energy transition must continue and it is continuing. As much as for the protection of the environment as for the reasons of energy security,” Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said and stressed that last year his country has achieved the highest share of solar energy in total gross electricity consumption in Europe.

In a Facebook post, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that after introducing a mechanism to recover excess revenue from power producers, a similar system is about to be rolled out for electricity suppliers. In his words, Greece is a pioneer on a European level in such efforts, aimed at mitigating the impact of the energy crisis. The proceeds are channeled to the national energy transition fund for subsidizing energy bills.

“The energy transition must continue and it is continuing. As much as for the protection of the environment as for the reasons of energy security,” Mitsotakis underscored. He noted that Greece has reached 8.8% last year in the share of solar energy in gross electricity consumption.

The prime minister said it was the highest level in Europe and added that it is expected to hit 10% in 2022. The data was earlier published by the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies (HELAPCO).

Furthermore, Mitsotakis stressed that the total new solar power capacity is seen at 1.34 GW for the current year, pointing out that the target for the first nine months was exceeded. It would translate to a combined cumulative level since 2010 of just below 5.5 GW. Total cumulative capacity is set to climb to between 7.3 GW and 7.8 GW next year.

The share of photovoltaics in total electricity production has reached 14.2%.