Solid investment interest for hybrid RES systems on islands

Greece’s non-interconnected islands, not including Crete, require hybrid RES systems with a total capacity of between 80 MW and 100 MW, according to a distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO estimate, announced by an operator official at an energy storage event.

Theodora Patsaka, head of DEDDIE/HEDNO’s Island Management Division, also told the event that investment interest is high for such green projects on non-interconnected islands. Investor applications submitted to the operator – before licensing framework revisions – represent a total of 80 MW, she noted.

Hybrid RES systems promise to resolve a series of issues encountered by DEDDIE/HEDNO as operator of the non-interconnected islands, the official noted. Besides offering energy storage solutions, hybrid RES systems will enable full utilization.

A total of 28 electricity systems on the islands have disparities, such as varying electricity demand levels, Patsaka pointed out, while demand levels on the islands differ greatly in winter and summer, increasing the difficulty and cost of ensuring energy sufficiency all year round, she added.

The energy ministry, as a next step to the European Commission’s approval of an operational support scheme for hybrid RES systems, must now complete a related pricing framework, which will unlock the selection process concerning projects to be installed on respective islands, Patsaka added.