The energy ministry has forwarded a finalized plan for RES auctions to the European Commission which, according to sources, envisages separate auctions for PV and wind energy technologies as well as two neutral pilot auctions open to investors of both technologies.

The plan concerns a three-year period covering 2018, 2019 and 2020 while a new program will ensue, based on a strategic energy plan scheduled for 2019 to 2030 and conclusions to be drawn from the auctions.

The current plan proposes annual auctions to offer total yearly capacities of 100 MW each for PV and wind energy technologies over the aforementioned three-year period, sources informed. In other words, PV and wind energy technology investors will be offered total capacities of 300 MW each over this three-year period.

The plan’s neutral pilot auction plan, the sources added, features an auction for the first half of 2019, followed by another in 2020. Each auction is planned to offer 200 MW for both PV and wind energy investors, the sources informed. A total of 400 MW would be offered through these two auctions.

The plan also includes provisions for an auction to promote the development of non-mature wind energy projects in areas where electricity capacity is available but license applications have not been submitted to fully utilize this capacity. The submarine cable interconnections of Polypotamos-Nea Makri and the Cyclades are two such cases.

Auctions are not being planned for other RES sub-categories (biomass, biogas, small hydropower units) and thermal energy stations as the current level of investor interest is not strong enough to justify auctions.

Once the European Commission has offered its approval of the current RES auction plan, the energy ministry will need to issue a ministerial decision, following advice from RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, on various auction details, including terms and number of rounds.