Israel’s scarce land resources and lack of interconnections to neighboring countries have driven the rise of rooftop solar. Now a number of recent policy changes, mainly due to electricity reforms, are set to reinforce the decentralization trend, reports Ilias Tsagas.

Amazon Web Services has inaugurated a pilot project to turn the Greek island of Naxos into a “smart island.” A number of other companies, including Volkswagen, are also running smart island pilots in the Aegean Sea.

An Inter-ministerial committee of the Greek government last week labeled a photovoltaic project, combining lithium batteries and an electrolyzer, a strategic investment meaning it can take advantage of fast licensing processes.  

Greece awarded 538.4 MW of capacity in its most recent renewables tender last week. This is almost half of the 1 GW renewables capacity that the country planned to award in the auction round.

The Cypriot cabinet has approved a proposal by the energy minister to extend the country’s subsidy scheme for net metering and energy-efficiency measures, adding €40 million of funding ($39.8 million) to the program.

Greece’s Public Power Corp. (PPC) Renewables, the green energy division of state-owned PPC, has kicked off a tender for a 550 MW subsidy-free solar plant at a former lignite mine.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince traveled to the Greek capital of Athens this week, representing his first official trip to Europe since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. His visit was marked by the signing of several agreements between the two countries and some big statements issued by the Saudi leader regarding green energies and hydrogen.

The Greek energy regulator has published the details of a 1 GW joint renewable power tender scheduled for September. The nation has planned a number of additional competitive tenders up to 2024, in order to procure about 3 GW of renewables, including energy storage.

Cyprus is a laggard in renewable energy development compared to many of its European neighbors. Given its reliance on oil and gas imports, the consequences are now being felt by electricity consumers on the island. However, as Ilias Tsagas reports, a combination of factors may soon provide the leverage that changes the game fast.

Lebanon’s Banque De L’Habitat is rolling out a new scheme to provide loans to help Lebanese households buy and install PV systems. It is running the scheme with the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC), which is providing technical assistance.