Rhodes

Island Decarbonization Fund, to offer €1.5-3bn, imminent

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The Island Decarbonization Fund, which has been allocated 25 million CO2 emission rights expected to raise between 1.5 and 3 billion euros through auctions, is set for launch, energy minister Thodoros Skylakakis told an event on Rhodes yesterday.

He was speaking at the Rhodes Co-Lab Sustainable Destination, an event co-organized by the South Aegean Administrative Region and the TUI Group to promote the transformation of Rhodes into a sustainable and resilient tourist destination.

The proceeds to be raised by the CO2 emission rights, at auctions in 2024 and 2025, are planned to co-finance up to 60 percent of the Greek islands’ decarbonization effort.

The Island Decarbonization Fund will officially be launched with the signing of an agreement by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA) and the European Investment Bank.

The energy ministry has already begun specifying initiatives that will receive support through the Island Decarbonization Fund. Renewable energy projects are expected to secure the biggest share of the fund, followed by electrical grid interconnections.

The remaining amount is expected to go towards financially supporting various other initiatives, including cold ironing (emission-reducing shore-to-ship power supply).

Deputy energy minister Alexandra Sdoukou told the Rhodes event that a 500 million-euro amount is already anticipated from the Island Decarbonization Fund for an electrical interconnection linking the Dodecanese islands with the mainland.

Sdoukou also made note of plans for the development, on Rhodes, of a RES facility with a storage unit promising a capacity of at least 50 MW. This project will increase the RES share of the island’s energy mix to at least 40 percent, she added.

Inaugural offshore wind farm auctions in ’27, 6 areas likeliest

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Greece’s first auctions for offshore wind farm areas are expected to take place in 2027 with six areas off Crete, Gyaros, Rhodes and Evia considered the likeliest to be offered to investors as part of the country’s efforts for an offshore energy portfolio of 1.9 GW by the end of the decade, energy ministry officials have informed.

EDEYEP, the Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company, overseeing the effort, also set, late last year, 2027 as the inaugural year of these auctions.

The Greek government recently reduced the National Energy and Climate Plan’s 2030 capacity target for offshore wind farms to 1.9 GW from 2.7 GW.

EDEYEP has scoured Greek waters for locations suitable for development of offshore wind farms. Areas making the grade have been included in a National Offshore Wind Farm Development Program, presented just days ago by the company, along with a Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment.

Flora Karathanasi, an EDEYEP consultant, named six of ten prospective offshore areas for initial development that would contribute to the 2030 target. The six areas are located northeast of Rhodes; around Gyaros, in the northern Cyclades; off Agii Apostoli in eastern Evia; off northeastern Crete, between Agios Nikolaos and Sitia; and off eastern Crete.

According to the National Offshore Wind Farm Development Program, five of these areas are planned to host floating wind turbines, while only one, off northeastern Crete, will host fixed-foundation wind turbines.

The program’s presentation coincides with a heightened level of international RES investment interest in Greek offshore areas.

Swedish-headquartered Hexicon’s Head of Business Development, Henrik Baltscheffsky, recently told energypress that Greece can become a European focal point for floating wind energy, a view he reiterated days later at the 5th Renewable & Storage Forum in Athens.

Also, the Greek subsidiary of Denmark’s Copenhagen Offshore Partners is scheduled to launch its Athens office this Thursday. COP is partnering with the fund management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), with which Greece-based industrial and energy group Mytilineos shares an alliance.

In addition, Corio Generation, a subsidiary of Australian global financial services group Macquarie, has also expressed an interest to enter Greece’s nascent offshore wind sector. It has announced the formation of a joint venture with Greek company Globalsat.

These moves come following a series of like-minded announcements by domestic companies with major international players (Terna Energy – Ocean Winds; Helleniq Energy – RWE; Intrakat – Parkwind; Motor Oil – Masdar).

Retail competition still slow on Crete, Rhodes but gradually rising

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Competition in the retail electricity markets of Crete and Rhodes, the only two Greek islands where independent suppliers have so far been offered access to power markets, is currently subdued but showing signs of some intensification, monthly market data released by HEDNO, the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator, has indicated.

Electricity market conditions on both islands remain less mature compared to those of mainland Greece as competition on both Crete and Rhodes is relatively recent. Crete’s retail electricity market was opened up last summer, while Rhodes entered the picture earlier this year.

Besides the main power utility PPC, eleven independent suppliers currently operate in the Cretan market. These are Elpedison, Green, NRG, Protergia, Volterra, Watt + Volt, Heron, Ken, Elta, Economic Growth, and Volton.

Heron led the pack of independent suppliers in May with a market share of 3.39 percent, up from 2.35 percent in February, 2.47 percent in March, and 2.74 percent in April, the HEDNO data showed.

Protergia followed with 3.01 percent of the Cretan market in May. It has also gained steadily, reaching 2.22 percent in February, 2.43 percent in March, and 2.76 percent in April, according to the HEDNO data.

On Rhodes, besides PPC, a further nine suppliers have entered the retail electricity market, these being Elpedison, Green, NRG, Protergia, Volterra, Watt + Volt, Heron, Ken, and Elta. Their market shares are still hovering at low levels.

Heron held a 0.61 percent share in May, up from 0.41 percent in March and 0.53 percent in April. Watt + Volt held 0.51 percent in May while Elpedison captured a 0.25 percent market share.

 

 

 

Battle for share of Crete’s electricity retail market begins in June

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Energy firms are preparing to do battle on Crete for a share of the island’s retail electricity market once RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has approved a series of measures concerning gurantees provided by firms.

According to market officials, Crete’s electricity market, possessing the biggest of the country’s non-interconnected grids, is expected to open up to competition this June and will be followed by Rhodes at a latter date.

These same officials reminded that pursuing electricity-related business activities on the non-interconnected islands carry extraordinary demands as greater amounts of capital are needed for market penetration, compared to mainland markets.

Highlighting the tough market conditions to be confronted on Crete, electricity suppliers will need to purchase electricity loads in the wholesale market at elevated price levels of around 180 euros per MWh as a result of the high operating costs of petrol-fueled power stations covering the island’s electricity needs. These suppliers will then need to sell at lower levels of around 70 euros per MWh to compete against the main power utility PPC and will then need to wait for Public Service Compensation (YKO) reimbursements.

This boils down to meaning that substantial capital amounts will be required by independent suppliers as back-up for their electricity business endeavors on Crete, meaning that the market will be limited to large players.

According to energypress sources, more than three energy firms have already bolstered their ranks and are training personnel as well as dealers as part of the effort to capture market shares from PPC, Crete’s only power supplier at present.

Once all approval procedures have been completed by RAE and HEDNO, the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator, both Crete and Rhodes will operate as autonomous grids served by their own suppliers, who will purchase electricity loads from HEDNO, locally acronymed DEDDIE, and then sell to consumers.

The existence of large-scale hotel units on both Crete and Rhodes, major energy consumers belonging to a target market being eyed by independent suppliers, is a key attraction for new players in these markets.