Solar, wind units of 947.8 MW apply for power purchase auction in Greece

The segment for wind power systems of up to 50 MW in the upcoming auction in Greece came in well oversubscribed and contracts for the entire 481.5 MW package are on the way to be awarded. On the other hand, developers of solar power plants with only 199.4 MW in total applied for the 482 MW available on July 27.

The Regulatory Authority for Energy – RAE said the total capacity of wind power plants that will compete on July 27 for long-term power purchase agreements is more than sufficient for awarding the contracts for the planned 481.5 MW. The rule requires the volume to be oversubscribed by 40% and 25 projects in Greece with 748.4 MW in total applied for the auction. The category is for facilities with up to 50 MW.

In the other segment, for photovoltaic units of a maximum 20 MW, 52 projects with an overall 199.4 MW are participating, compared to the limit set at 482 MW. It means a large chunk of solar power capacity will remain unallocated and transferred to the next bidding event.

Lowest bid wins

The ceiling prices are EUR 62.99 per MWh for wind power and EUR 63 per MWh for photovoltaics. Operators with the lowest offers are the winners. The deadline for applications was June 29.

The electronic bidding process late this month for units with a total of 947.8 MW in capacity is scheduled to be the last under the old rules. The companies are currently required to have licenses for generating electricity and connecting to the grid, while the system is switching to digital certificates.

License issuance accelerated

Projects of up to 1 MW are obligated to come online within a year. The deadline for those up to 5 MW is 15 months and owners of larger solar power plants have 18 months to connect to the grid.

There were only 300 MW in wind power projects left over from the December auction, but since the new legislation package came into force in Greece, the process of approving licenses has accelerated.

The price achieved at the renewables auction in April, EUR 49.11 per MWh for PPC’s 200 MW photovoltaic project, was the lowest ever in Greece for the technology.