Officals at RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, have completed drafting terms for three RES auctions offering new photovoltaic and wind energy installation capacities and forwarded the related texts for publication in the government gazette, sources have informed. The offical announcements are expected to be published within the next few days.

The auctions will be staged on July 2, as scheduled by RAE, while investors will have until June 5 to submit their applications, according to the same sources.

Given these details, interested parties are expected to have a little over a month to prepare their applications. RAE is believed to have shortened the time it will need to process and assess applications.

The upcoming RES aucions have been split into three categories. One will concern photovoltaic installations with capacities less than 1 MW. Another will offer photovoltaic installations with capacities of between 1 and 20 MW. A third auction will cater to wind energy installations between 3 and 50 MW.

Major renewable energy players have requested additional time to prepare their applications. However, RAE is determined to stage the RES auctions as soon as possible as the authority is convinced this will project the Greek RES market as a mature and attractive prospect for all investors, local and foreign.

The authority has requested updated data from the IPTO and HEDNO/DEDDIE operators listing the market’s mature wind and solar energy projects. Taking into consideration this information, the level of mature RES projects at present is not extensive and does not exceed the limits set by RAE for wind and solar energy installations. A limit of 300 MW has been set for each of the two categories.

A request by investors calling for returns of their letters of guarantees should their RES auction bids ultimately prove unsuccessful will be met. The energy ministry will deliver an amendment catering to this need around mid-May, energypress sources informed.