Greece

German and Greek electric utilities have decided to build 280 MW of new solar capacity in Greece’s former coal region in Western Macedonia. This is in addition to solar farms the two utilities are already jointly building in the country, in pursuit of their 2 GW solar target for former Greek mines.

Greece is experiencing consecutive heatwaves and a number of forest fires this month that have increased demand for electricity. The country’s solar photovoltaic fleet is keeping the power system running at peak times.

Nexans has signed a contract to build a submarine transmission line as the first phase of the EuroAsia Interconnector, which will connect Greece, Israel, and Cyprus.

Germany-based Solar Kapital has used membranes at three of its PV plants in Greece. It claims that the payback time of the new solution is relatively short.

Greece’s energy regulator has announced three separate auctions for standalone energy storage systems connected to electricity transmission networks. The application process for the first auction, which involves 400 MW of energy storage, will be open until July 10.

As the solar wave sweeps across Europe, creaking grids are emphasizing the continent’s overriding need for energy storage.

Thrace Group has developed a reflective, permeable membrane made of polypropylene resins and coated with a thin white layer that reflects ultraviolet (UV) rays. It claims that the membrane increased the energy yield of a large-scale pilot installation by 4.5%.

Germany’s RWE and Greek state-owned utility PPC have signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for three of five solar projects to be built in a former coal mining region in Greece. They will sell the electricity to local utility Heron.

According to Aurora Energy Research, Europe is on track to install at least 95 GW of grid-scale battery energy storage systems by 2050, up from 5 GW of installed capacity today, and representing more than €70 billion ($76.9 billion) of investment.

Public Power Corp. (PPC), Greece’s state-owned utility, has won a tender to build a solar-plus-storage project on the Greek island of Astypalaia.