RES special account to end 2015 with surplus, operator predicts

The country’s renewable energy sources (RES) special account is expected to end 2015 with a surplus of 5.98 million euros, according to a forecast made by LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator.

This surplus figure will be achieved by the end of this year, even though 2015 has not gotten off to the best of starts, the operator noted in its latest report.

The RES special account is expected to end the month of January with a deficit of 111.47 million euros, which will be reduced to 68.38 million euros in February and 48.33 million euros in March, according to the LAGIE report.

The operator forecast that 2016 will begin with a surplus of 34.14 million euros, in January of that year, which will then increase to 59.35 million euros in February and 65.63 million euros in March. However, the RES special account will end 2016 with an overall deficit of 36.19 million euros, LAGIE forecast.

As for the RES special account’s current state, it ended November, 2014 with a reduced deficit of 190.10 million euros, from 219.99 million euros a month earlier.

According to the LAGIE report, installed RES capacity for the entire country rose to 5,019 MW last November. Wind-energy capacity reached 1,933 MW from 1,910 MW; photovoltaic capacity remained unchanged at 2,215 MW; and roof-mounted photovoltaic capacity increased marginally, by one MW, to reach 375 MW in November from 374 MW in the previous month. Likewise, small-scale hydropower capacity remained steady at 220 MW, as did biomass-biogas capacity, at 47 MW, and combined heat and power (CHP), at 229 MW.

Considerable changes were registered in RES power production. Wind-energy park production dropped to 305 GWh from 397 GWh; photovoltaic system production decreased to 169 GWh from 287 GWh; roof-mounted photovoltaic production fell to 44 GWh from 50 GWh; small-scale hydropower production increased to 47 GWh from 36 GWh; biomass-biogas unit production slipped to 16 GWh from 17 GWh;  and CHP production edged up to 111 GWh from 110 GWh.