PV pilot tender offering 40 MW announced by energy authority

A pilot tender to offer PV system installation capacities totaling 40 MW has just been launched following an announcement made by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

Achieving a sufficient participation level, which will enable the tender to go ahead, stands as the procedure’s next main challenge. Failure to do so could create considerable problems and leave the RES sector without an institutional framework.

The tender’s regulations specify that PV sub-category capacities will not be offered if respective registration levels do not exceed 40 percent of the total amount offered for the sub-category. The capacities on offer have been divided into two sections, or projects of less and more than 1 MW.

Though the 40 percent registration lower limit may seem small compared to the towering levels of investor expressed in the past, it does stand as a challenge amid the market’s current reality of extremely low tariffs. Also, the number of mature projects, or investments past the licensing stage, is minimal.

Greece must stage the tender, based on existing EU laws and directives, as part of the effort to expand RES penetration.

RAE has noted that 40 percent minimum participation level is needed to generate competition in the tender’s procedure.