New applications in Greece for 3.3 GWh of energy storage in November

The Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) of Greece received 44 applications in November for energy storage projects.

The interest in investments in energy storage facilities in Greece remains high. In the November licensing cycle, 44 applications were submitted to RAE, totalling just under 3.3 GWh in capacity. By July, 337 applications were filed.

Among them, four are for projects exceeding 200 MWh, to be installed in Thessaly and Central Greece.

All applications are for battery storage projects except one, for a pumped storage hydropower plant of 34 MWh.

More pumped hydro needed for 2030

Meanwhile, experts are already sounding the alarm for a possible overheating in the sector, at least in licensing terms. In order to reach an 80% renewables share by 2030, the country is going to need more pumped hydropower capacity, said National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) Professor Stavros Papathanasiou, who is also the head of the energy storage committee at the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

He also believes that, for the time being, 900 MW to 1 GW in batteries would be enough. Papathanasiou added the rest could be installed later in the decade, taking advantage of lower technology costs. Minister Kostas Skrekas recently said the new national energy and climate plan (NECP) would target 5 GW to 8 GW of storage by 2030 in order to support 28 GW of renewables.

It should also be noted that the Greek government aims to conduct its first energy storage auction soon. It is eagerly awaited by the companies in the sector.

Groups proceeding with hundreds of new megawatts

However, neither large nor smaller firms need to wait to invest in storage. Many groups are already changing their PV licenses to include batteries. One is Enel Green Power, which just added batteries to its solar power projects in Farsala: one future 83.7 MW plant and a 50 MW unit. The two facilities are envisaged to include battery systems of 176 MWh and 105 MWh, respectively.

The head of Enel Green Power for Europe, Aristotelis Hantavas, said recently that the market does not have to wait for the upgrading of the power grid, as there is the option to invest in storage and increase RES penetration.

Another company that bets on energy storage in Greece is Direen, part of Chinese group Zhejiang Narada Power Source, which is developing its own battery technology. The firm has submitted applications this year for hundreds of megawatts in photovoltaics and batteries.