SEF

Net-metering, roof-mounted PV subsidies ending early May

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The energy ministry plans to place energy RES self-consumption under a net-billing framework through a forthcoming bill that will include an amendment abolishing net-metering and prematurely ending “PV Stegi”, a subsidy program for roof-mounted solar panel installations, sources have informed.

The legislative revision, sources added, is expected to be ratified around late April, meaning that net-metering will be abolished by early May, along with the “PV Stegi” subsidy program that had been planned to accept applications until June 30.

Market players, including SEF, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies, have already expressed concerns about this prospect, warning it would severely impact growth in the sector.

The ministry’s approach, sources noted, is based on objections raised in the past by the European Commission concerning net-metering as well as its resulting increased cost for energy suppliers.

Brussels considers net-billing to be the most appropriate formula for self-consumption. The European Commission has raised objections against “PV Stegi” subsidy program for roof-mounted solar panels, noting the program has been  subsidizing a spread of net-metering in the household sector.

Under the new rules, farmers will be an exception as both net-metering and net-billing systems will continue to apply for small-scale solar systems inducted into a forthcoming “PVs on farmland” subsidy program supporting PV installations by farmers seeking to meet their energy needs through self-production.

PV systems with a capacity of up to 30 KW will be regulated under a net-metering system, while photovoltaic systems with capacities ranging from 31 to 50 KW will be regulated under the net-billing system, energypress sources informed.

Both net-metering and net-billing compensate solar-system owners for transferring electricity to the grid when their panels overproduce, but the ways the two systems compensate differs.

Net metering credits equal the retail electricity rate paid by customers for electricity. On the contrary, net billing credits equal the wholesale rate electricity companies pay for electricity.

Extra subsidized standalone batteries at 500-700 MW

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Battery-based RES facilities (both standalone units and behind-the-meter projects) will total 3,100 MW, greatly contributing to the country’s energy-storage targets, according to a draft of the revised National Energy and Climate Plan.

The energy-storage support package will result in a portfolio of standalone batteries with an overall capacity of as much as 1,500 to 1,700 MW, deputy energy minister Alexandra Sdoukou told a recent event staged by SEF, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies (HELAPCO).

These levels represent an additional capacity of between 500 and 700 MW in standalone batteries eligible for subsidy support as a result of a reduction in investment support to be offered, it has been estimated.

Energy-storage projects representing roughly 700 MW have qualified for subsidy support through two auctions.

As for the portfolio’s allocation, the energy ministry is considering dividing it into two-hour and four-hour batteries, in place of an initial plan that had envisaged 700 MW of two-hour batteries and 300 MW of four-hour batteries.

PVs through support program reach 2,000, 8,700 to follow

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Some 2,000 roof-mounted solar panels representing a capacity of 12 MW have been installed through the government’s subsidy support program, dubbed PV Stegi, and are operating, while a further 8,700 such systems, totaling 60 MW, are expected to follow in the coming months, once their investors have signed agreements with RES market operator DAPEEP, energypress sources have informed.

It is estimated that these projects will absorb roughly 50 percent of the subsidy support program’s budget of 230 million euros.

Though these figures do highlight the market’s interest in the support program, they also illustrate that the program, launched nearly ten months ago, has moved along at a slower-than-expected pace.

Delays in the provision of subsidies to applicants are the main reason behind this slowness. progress. Interested parties are being forced to provide initial amounts of own capital for their roof-mounted solar panel installations and to then wait, for unspecified periods of time, to receive the subsidy support they are entitled to.

Self-production is flourishing in Greece and, according to latest projections made by SEF, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies (HELAPCO), is set to surpass last year’s record-breaking performance of 250 MW, which resulted in a capacity increase for the sector of over 100 percent. More PV systems were installed last year, alone, than in all previous years, combined.

SEF has projected PV installations this year will reach approximately 300 MW, of which 60 MW will be developed through the PV Stegi subsidy support program.

 

Stricter RES project timeline considered to free up capacity

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The energy ministry is considering to introduce stricter timelines for the completion of RES projects possessing connection terms, the initiative’s aim being to free up grid capacity.

As part of the effort, the energy ministry has asked for power grid operator IPTO’s opinion on whether existing RES project development timelines should be made tighter in order to eliminate projects that have stalled for a variety of reasons.

The ministry believes that a proportion of grid space that would become available through the implementation of a tighter development schedule for RES projects should be allocated to the distribution network for the development of small-scale photovoltaics. Priority would be given to self-consumption applications.

Deputy energy minister Alexandra Sdoukou presented the fundamentals of the overall plan at a recent event staged by SEF, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies. Releasing grid space and distributing this capacity to new projects are the plan’s two key aspects, she explained.

Greater grid-injection restrictions for renewables and the addition of batteries to RES projects with connection terms are paramount in the effort to broaden available capacity, Sdoukou reiterated.

Plant fencing around solar farms to be made compulsory

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A prospective legislative revision forwarded by the energy ministry for consultation will make plant fencing around the perimeters of all solar energy farms, existing and prospective, compulsory, the aim being to reduce the environmental impact and visual disturbance caused by such project installations.

The revision is included in a draft bill covering spatial and urban planning matters concerning renewables.

However, it remains questionable whether tree fencing around the perimeters of solar energy farms could work in all cases.

Last summer, SEF/HELAPCO, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies, presented a report contending that plant fencing solutions are not always viable. It would make more sense to fence off sections of solar energy farms, while not all tree types, even native species, can prosper as a result of radiation, the association highlighted. Also, for safety reasons, planting should not obstruct alarm systems of solar energy farms, it noted.

According to sector experts, a similar initiative taken by Spain several years ago demonstrated low sustainability rates of native Mediterranean plant species serving as solar farm fencing. Existing vegetation within properties hosting PVs were exceptions, the experts pointed out.

Market players seek maximum benefits from revised NECP

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Market players have expressed a range of reservations and concerns about targets set in the country’s revised National Energy and Climate Plan, whose finalization is a step away, following consultation that was completed early this month.

The revised NECP is designed to provide market range and policy guidance rather than to offer precise, pinpointed figures, one inside source has told energypress.

For its part, the industrial sector described the cost of the green transition included in the NECP as “exorbitant”, while at the same time stressing the need for investment support and funding for new technologies, such as hydrogen and renewable gases.

Produc-E Green, a subsidy program budgeted at 199.7 million euros and funded through the Resilience and Recovery Fund (RRF), was launched in May to provide financial support for the development of innovative, green-energy facilities.

Subsidies offered through the Produc-E Green program can reach up to 70 percent of investment cost for domestic companies establishing facilities manufacturing products concerning electromobility, renewable energy and energy saving.

SEF, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies, noted the NECP is generally headed in the right direction but proposed greater solar-energy participation in the energy mix and increased targets for battery storage.

The new NECP foresees reduced installed photovoltaic capacity in 2030, compared to an earlier draft of the plan in January, 2023, down to 13.4 GW from 14.1 GW.

ELETAEN, the Greek Wind Energy Association, in a letter to the energy ministry, has noted, among other things, that the target for onshore wind energy units is extremely low and not aligned with the market’s true potential.

Market conditions indicate that the country’s wind-energy capacity will total nearly 6.5 GW within the next three years, meaning that a 7.6-GW target set for 2030 would lead to a major slowdown from 2026 onwards, ELETAEN noted.

Environmental organizations have been highly critical of the revised NECP draft, describing it as a compromise favoring natural gas, compared to the plan’s previous draft.

 

Record-level solar panel installations in 2022 reach 1,362 MW

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Solar panel installations in 2022 reached an all-time high of 1,362 MW, exceeding the previous record capacity of 838 MW tallied in the previous year, preliminary data provided by SEF, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies (HELAPCO), has shown.

Last year’s surge in solar panel connections to the grid took the country’s portfolio of installed PVs to 5,488 MW.

The number of solar panel systems that were connected to the grid also rose sharply last year, reaching 341 MW.

Net-metering installations also rose considerably in 2022, reaching a total capacity of 110 MW, approximately triple the capacity amassed in 2021, when the installed net-metering capacity totaled 38 MW, the preliminary SEF figures showed.

The net-metering boost in 2022 was almost exclusively linked to system installations made for commercial purposes.

A forthcoming subsidy program for roof-mounted solar panel installations is expected to lift solar panel installations to a new record figure in 2023.

Top energy sector officials taking part at Power & Gas Forum, March 22-23

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The government’s top-ranked energy sector officials as well as a host of other leading figures from political, institutional, academic and business domains will be talking part in the Power & Gas Forum on March 22 and 23 at the Wyndham Grand Athens Hotel, an event being staged by energypress for a fourth time. Conference speakers and attendees will participate in person.

Speakers at the event will include Greek energy minister Kostas Skrekas; the energy ministry’s secretary-general Alexandra Sdoukou; secretary-general of transport at the ministry of infrastructure and transport Ioannis Xifaras; RAE (Regulatory Authority for Energy) president Athanasios Dagoumas; EFET’s (European Federation of Energy Traders) Jerome Le Page; Tomás Llobet of European Energy Retailers (EER); two former Greek energy ministers, Giannis Maniatis and Giorgos Stathakis; Sokratis Famellos, a member of the main opposition leftist Syriza party; and Haris Doukas of the PASOK-KINAL socialist party.

Other conference participants will include power grid operator IPTO’s chief executive officer Manos Manousakis and his deputy Giannis Margaris; gas grid operator DESFA’s chief executive Maria Rita Galli; RES market operator DAPEEP’s president and CEO Giannis Giarentis; distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO’s chief executive Anastasios Manos; EDEYEP (Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company) president Aristofanis Stefatos; the Hellenic Energy Exchange’s newly appointed CEO Alexandros Papageorgiou; EDA THESS general manager and EDA ATTIKI CEO Leonidas Bakouras; the Greek prime minister’s special adviser for energy Nikos Tsafos; energy ministry adviser Theodoros Tsakiris; and energy markets guru Alex Papalexopoulos.

The academic community will be represented by professors Pantelis Kapros, Stavros Papathanasiou, Pantelis Biskas, Nikolaos Hatziargyriou and Antonis Metaxas.

As always, energy-sector authorities will also participate at the event. They include Loukas Dimitriou (ESAI/HAIPP – Hellenic Association of Independent Power Producers); Antonis Kontoleon (EVIKEN – Association of Industrial Energy Consumers); Giannis Mitropoulos and Miltos Aslanoglou (ESPEN – Greek Energy Suppliers Association); Irodotos Antonopoulos (ESEPIE – Hellenic Association of Electricity Trading & Supply Companies); Panagiotis Lostarakos and Panagiotis Papastamatiou (ELETAEN – Greek Wind Energy Association); Stelios Loumakis (SPEF – Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Energy Producers); and Stelios Psomas (SEF/HELAPCO – Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies).

Key sector entrpreneurs and executives who have so far confirmed their participation include: Ioannis Kalafatas (Mytilineos); Kyriakos Kofinas (PPC); Nikolaos Zahariadis (Elpedison); Anastasios Lostarakos (NRG); Dinos Nikolaou (Energean); Kostis Sifnaios (Gastrade); Nikolaos Satras (Dioryga Gas); Panos Nikou (Volterra); and Ioannis Kokkotos (ABB).

The forum’s full agenda will be finalized and announced in the coming days.

Grid-injection limit proposals for RES, storage units face opposition

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Renewable energy associations and producers, taking part in a consultation procedure staged by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, have rejected a proposal for universal grid-injection restrictions on RES facilities and energy storage units, instead calling for a plan offering greater flexibility.

ESIAPE, the Greek Association of Renewable Energy Source Electricity Producers, rejected a proposal for grid-injection restrictions, noting their imposition would come as an outdated and unsubstantiated move. The association has proposed more focused, demand-related restrictions, rather than universal ones, as the only viable solution that would minimize the loss of RES production.

The Mytilineos energy group also sees definite advantages in focused, demand-related restrictions as they could be applied in real time as well as on a localized basis.

SEF/HELAPCO, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies, was one of many consultation participants who also spoke out against proposed universal, permanent grid-injection restrictions on energy storage units.

The association noted these restrictions would impact the financial feasibility of energy storage systems, adding that, by definition, these systems are meant to optimize grid infrastructure and the network and should not face restrictions.

 

Solar, wind, energy storage system costs ‘exceed’ RAE figures

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The cost of installing and launching solar and wind energy facilities, as well as storage systems, exceeds levels presumed by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, RES agencies and investors have pointed out in public consultation staged by the authority on the cost of new entry for all electricity generation technologies.

RES equipment costs have not only failed to stabilize in recent times, but, on the contrary, struck an upward trajectory, RES officials highlighted.

Some public consultation participants pointed out that RAE’s figures only factor in equipment supply and construction costs without taking into account the connection costs entailed.

SEF, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies, rejected RAE’s capital expenditure estimate for domestic roof-mounted solar panel installations, presumed to be €550,000/MW, noting this figure is extremely low and does not reflect actual market conditions.

The association also noted that RAE’s €400,000/MW CAPEX estimate for commercial PVs is also too low, contending this cost ranges between €500,000-€550,000/MW.

The capital expenditure figure for offshore wind farms is far greater than RAE’s estimate of 3.1 million euros per MW, contended ELETAEN, the Greek Wind Energy Association.

“Given the lack of relevant experience in Greece, depth of the seas, and the still-undeveloped supply chain, the €3.1m/MW estimate is probably very optimistic,” ELETAEN stated.

Solar energy association wants net metering rule revisions for boost

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The Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies (SEF/HELAPCO) has called for a series of net metering rule revisions by the government to stimulate growth for the sector.

Proposals forwarded by the association include making possible the amortization of net metering investment costs directly through electricity bills.

At present, electricity suppliers offer net metering system installations through bank financing packages that cover between 70 and 80 percent of the net metering investment cost, ranging between 5,000 and 12,000 euros.

As a result, consumers are responsible for paying initial sums of between 1,000 and 1,500 euros for net metering system installations concerning small homes and between 2,400 and 3,600 euros for larger-scale projects.

Under current conditions, amortization requires eight years. This effectively means consumers opting to install net metering systems stand to benefit from reduced electricity bill costs for a period of 17 years as net metering agreements are offered for 25-year periods.

Authorities anticipate the gradual rise of the electromobility sector will boost demand for net metering as increased domestic consumption will make installations for self-production more attractive.

Small-scale PV investors must unite to skip network saturation obstacles

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Energy authorities are working on resolving network access problems encountered by small-scale PV investors as a result of saturation issues and appear headed towards promoting joint applications by investors that would avoid distribution network operator restrictions.

Small-scale PV investors, because of their limited size, are currently forced to design solar energy parks for network access through distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO’s distribution network, not transmission networks controlled by IPTO, whose transmission networks, in most cases, are not saturated but demand higher capacities for connection eligibility.

The saturation problem of distribution networks concerns many parts of the country. In many cases, these saturated networks cannot be upgraded for capacity increases.

Some small-scale PV investors are already opting to team up and avoid the distribution network limitations imposed by DEDDIE. However, reaching consensus for a joint plan can be challenging.

The energy ministry is currently engaged in talks with DEDDIE/HEDNO, IPTO and RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, officials, a leading ministry official has informed.

“We want to clear the way for interested parties currently being blocked by DEDDIE as a result of the saturated networks,” the energy ministry’s secretary-general Alexandra Sdoukou told a forum staged by SEF, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies. “We’re thinking, for example, of bringing together many PV projects which, at present, cannot be connected to DEDDIE’s network as a result of saturation, for one united application to IPTO.”

Ministry net metering revisions aiming to improve poor data

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The energy ministry has introduced a series of net metering revisions but it remains to be seen of these can improve the poor net metering statistics registered to date.

The revisions, effective as of March 5, include a net metering capacity increase from 500 kW to 1,000 kW as well as higher net metering capacities for some of the bigger islands, namely Crete, Rhodes, Kos, Lesvos, Chios and Samos.

In addition, net metering eligibility has been broadened to cover all RES technologies, including solar, small-scale wind turbines and hydropower stations, biomass, biogas and geothermal.

Also, net metering associating low and mid-voltage production and consumption, as well as combined RES technologies, has been permitted.

Net metering enables electricity consumers who generate their own power from an eligible on-site facility and deliver it to local distribution facilities to offset the electric energy provided by the utility during an applicable billing period.

Strong incentives are needed if the disappointing net metering data, especially for domestic systems, is to improve, Stelios Psomas, Policy Advisor at SEF/HELAPCO (Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies), has stressed.

SEF has proposed eliminating public service compensation (YKO) surcharges from  energy consumed and offset by self production.

Meanwhile, authorities are preparing to conduct a study in June on a remuneration mechanism for energy storage systems and other services offering grid stability, sources noted.

PV groups seek sustainable PV tariffs for units up to 500 MW

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Two local photovoltaic groups have called for the establishment of a new mechanism offering steady and sustainable electricity generation sale prices for new PV installations with capacities of up to 500 MW.

The two industry groups, SPEF, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Energy Producers, and SEF/HELAPCO, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies, representing PV equipment traders and technicians, submitted a joint request to the energy ministry.

Current regulations enable PV installations, without any involvement in competitive procedures, for facilities of up to 500 MW, but the resulting tariffs offered for electricity production are extremely low as they are determined by a formula multiplying the previous year’s System Marginal Price by 1.1 or 1.2. Low tariffs offered through this procedure are keeping investors away.

The proposal made by the two associations calls for the establishment of steady tariffs through competitive procedures as a means of ensuring that PV equipment cost reductions are factored in and guaranteeing sustainable prices for new small-to-medium size installations.

 

Finalized RES auction list to be announced, changes wanted

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An examination by authorities of investor appeals following the rejection of registration applications concerning upcoming RES auctions on July 2 have not led to any major changes to the final list of participants, sources have informed.

The finalized list of auction participants is expected to be published either today or tomorrow.

A considerable number of RES auction applications concerning capacities for large-scale photovoltaic projects were rejected as, in these cases, prospective investors failed to submit in digital form all appropriate support documents as they had done on paper. Virtually all of these rejections are expected to be upheld.

The total capacity of applications approved for small-scale PV installations totaled 91.6 MW and concerns 149 projects. A total of 28 applications concerning this sub-category were rejected. A total of 177 applications for 105.5 MW were submitted.

As for the large-scale PV category, concerning projects of between one and 20 MW, a total of just 52.9 MW for eight projects was approved. Applications for a total of 26 projects representing 144 MW were rejected in this category. A total of 34 applications for 197 MW had been submitted.

In the third category, concerning wind energy installations of between 3 and 50 MW, all 14 applications submitted, totaling 308 MW, were approved.

Renewable energy market officials are calling for changes to future auction regulations and licensing procedures.

“It is clear, regardless of the auction developments, that rules and procedures need to be changed if we truly want fast and robust renewable energy sector growth in our country,” SEF/HELAPCO, the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies, announced in a statement.

The association also noted that only a small number of PV projects are currently at a mature stage as a result of a misjudged decision taken by authorities in 2012 to freeze licensing activities in the sector for two years.

“We call on the energy ministry to promptly simplify licensing procedures so that photovoltaic project growth can be achieved,” SEF noted in its statement.

Leftover capacities concerning the July 2 RES auction will be reoffered to investors through an additional auction towards the end of the year. RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, is expected to make an official announcement on this in September.

According to SEF calculations, bidders representing 91.63 MW of solar energy projects will compete in the auction’s first category concerning solar energy projects less than one MW. Investors representing a total of 52.92 MW of solar energy projects will compete in the second category, concerning projects of between one and 20 MW, SEF estimates.

Terms implemented to ensure heightened bidding competition at the auctions require applications to oversubscribe amounts to be auctioned by 75 percent.

As a result, solar project investors representing 52.92 MW in the larger category concerning projects of between one and 20 MW will compete for 30.2 MW.

This is less than the 35.12 MW auctioned in this category at a pilot auction staged in December, 2016.

Rate of net metering applications on the rise

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The rate of net metering applications in Greece is rising as self-producing households and small-scale enterprises move to benefit from the mechanism enabling electricity consumers who generate their own power from an eligible on-site facility and deliver it to local distribution facilities to offset the electric energy provided by the utility during an applicable billing period.

A total of 1,321 applications have been submitted from May, 2015, when the mechanism was introduced in Greece, to June this year, while, of these, 694 are already operational, data released yesterday by the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies, locally acronymed SEF, has shown.

Net metering has proven to be a successful tool in various countries, especially within the PV sub-sector, for consumers seeking to partially offset overall consumption and save on energy costs.