Greece

An array of new investment plans were announced in Greece in May, ranging from mega PV projects to battery and electric vehicle production, as well as a move to smart green islands. pv magazine explores the state of these investments and links them to the country’s general policy frameworks – most notably, Greece’s master plan to boost green investments in former lignite regions and establish a new type of economy.

Developer Terna Energy claims the Amphilochia pumped hydroelectric energy storage project has entered the final stretch. If built, the large scale facility can boost Greece’s independence from fossil fuels and the government’s strategy for a coal-free electricity system by 2025.

The investment has been planned as part of the nation’s recovery and resilience plan to access EU funds for its post-Covid economic stimulus package. The spending plans of Portugal and Greece have also been approved by the European Commission in the last 48 hours.

Greece’s energy storage sector is heating up, with the government confirming plans to publish an energy storage policy framework and hold tenders for 700 MW of battery storage.

The proposed technique is based on radiative cooling and consists of a glass coating made with a two-dimensional subwavelength nanostructured grating, which is imprinted in soda-lime glass and has enhanced mid-infrared emissivity, and a micro-structured grating. The temperature decrease provided by the nano-micro-grating coating was found to be approximately up to 5.8 degrees Celsius.

The U.K.-based solar developer has joined forces with Portugal’s Insun to build solar parks totaling 1.35 GW over the next five years. In Greece, it wants to build another 640 MW in partnership with Kiefer TEK.

Greece held its latest round of solar and wind power auctions this week. Overall, 350 MW of PV was allocated while wind power projects failed to win any capacity.

Statistics published by Greece’s leading solar association show the country constructed 913 MW of new photovoltaic systems last year. Meanwhile, Greece’s largest island has been connected to the mainland power network by what has been described as the world’s longest subsea AC cable.

While solar, wind and hydro generated 80 TWh more electricity last year than in 2019, coal and oil use fell in every EU member state, and Greek energy emissions fell almost 19%.

The European Investment Bank and Greece this week signed a first-of-its-kind agreement to jointly manage €5 billion of investment concerned with the EU member state’s post-Covid recovery plan. The strategy has a key focus on green energy.