-|| RES auction prices (PV & Wind investments) in Greece on May 24, 2021_|_Key Results and Brief Analysis ||-

New RES auctions held in Greece on May 24, 2021 for RES (PV and Wind) Projects.

Greece held its latest round of RES (PV projects up to 20 MW and Wind Projects up to 50 MW) auctions on May 24, 2021. Particularly, a capacity of 350 MW of PV investments was allocated (upon successful bids) while Wind investments failed to win any capacity.

A total of 126 participants (RES projects totaling 1,090 MW) submitted 2,188 bids. The energy/electricity prices (tariffs) ranged from €0.03297/kWh to €0.0512/kWh, while the weighted average was €0.0376/kWh.

The high level of competition and the simplification of the licensing process were the main factors for the record low auction RES prices.

It is mentioned that the tender’s lowest tariff was awarded to a 19.3 MW PV project, which is set to be developed by the Greek company Egnatia Group SA. Overall, the said company which is part of Mytilineos Group, won around 130 MW of the awarded capacity. Moreover, Ecosolar won another 90 MW worth of PV capacity.

The aforementioned results of the Greek RES auction on May 24, 2021 are in line with results seen in tenders in other countries in Europe and globally, where PV projects also swept the board.

The detailed official results of the aforementioned RES auction (Decision Nr. 461/2021 of the Regulatory Authority for Energy/RAE available in GR) are included in the following link:

Official Results of the RES auctions in Greece as of May 24, 2021

It is worth mentioning that RES investors from PV and Wind sector are engaging in talks with electricity supply companies and industrial enterprises to establish in the future Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for their projects as they anticipate a reduction in capacities at forthcoming RES auctions and even lower energy prices (tariffs) than the low levels registered at the auction as of May 24, 2021.

Greece aims to auction a total capacity of further 2.1 GW of PV and Wind projects by 2024. 

-|| RES auction prices in Greece (PV & Wind) on July 27, 2020_|_Main Results and Brief Analysis ||-

New RES auctions held in Greece on July 27, 2020 for PV and Wind Projects.

As regards the PV Projects the auction’s highest bidding price was €62.45/MWh, while the average was €49.81/MWh. A total of 39 PV projects secured prices at the said auction.

“ABO Wind AG” was the most dominant bidder at Greece’s latest RES auction on July 27, 2020 securing approximately one third of the PV section’s total capacity for five (5) PV Projects (total capacity: 49.973 MW) in Prefecture of Thesprotia, Region of Epirus, NW Greece. The International Energy Company submitted the following auction’s bids: 45.84, 45.85, 45.86, 45.87 and 48.83 euros per MWh. It is mentioned that €45.85/MWh was the lowest bidding price at the auction.

As regard the Wind Projects the auction’s bidding prices ranged from €53.86/MWh to €57.70/MWh. A total of 15 Wind projects secured prices at the said auction.

It is worth mentioning that the Wind Projects secured a far greater total capacity than photovoltaics at the auction, 481 MW compared to 142 MW. Moreover, PV projects registered new record-low bidding prices for the Greek market.

You can find the official results of the aforementioned RES auction in the following link (Decision Nr. 1142/2020 of the Regulatory Authority for Energy/RAE available in GR): Official Results of the RES auctions in Greece as per July 27, 2020

-|| The second round of Greek RES auctions was completed on December 10, 2018 -|- Lower RES auction prices can be interpreted as a significant vote of confidence for Greece’s economy ||-

The second round of RES (reverse) auctions, conducted by the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) in Greece on December 10, 2018, had three categories – PV power stations of up to 1 MW; PV stations of between 1 MW and 20 MW; and Wind power stations of between 3 MW and 50 MW.

The session’s lower prices, which reached levels of major European markets reflect an anticipation of further RES equipment cost reductions and higher facility yields as well as an important vote of confidence of investors for the highly promising Greek RES market and general economy (low country risk).

The results of the tender as per Dec. 10, 2018 are the following:

Category	Capacity awarded	Lower price	Higher price	Starting price
Up to 1 MW PV	61.95 MW	EUR 64.00/MWh	EUR 69.00/MWh	EUR 81.71/MWh
1 MW-20 MW PV	86.47 MW	EUR 63.00/MWh	EUR 71.90/MWh	EUR 71.91/MWh
3 MW-50 MW Wind	160.94 MW	EUR 55.00/MWh	EUR 65.15/MWh	EUR 79.77/MWh

1. In the first category of small-scale photovoltaic installations of up to 1.0 MW, the lowest price was €64 per MWh and highest €69 per MWh. Bidders representing 180 projects with a total capacity of 102.19 MW contested for 61.95 MW at a starting price of 81.71 euros per MWh.

2. In the second category offering capacities for larger-scale PV installations of between 1.0 and 20 MW at a starting price of €71.9 per MWh, bidders representing a large proportion of projects totaling roughly 35 MW secured capacities at prices of approximately €63 per MWh, sources informed.

3. In the third category (wind energy installations of between 3.0 and 50 MW) the biggest price drop was produced by offering capacities, where the lowest price registered was €55 per MWh and the highest €65.15 per MWh, according to sources.

Successful bidders in this category included Terna, Rokas, Portugal’s EDPR, Volterra and Ostria. Representing 14 projects with a total capacity of 281.65 MW, they competed for 160.94 MW. As mentioned above the bidding process for this category started at €79.77 per MWh.

<|> More and more international companies, organizations and funds bet that Greece’s RES market and general economy will thrive <|>

-|| Greece completed on July 2, 2018 its first RES auction, awarding about 277 MW of capacity ||-

The RES auctions, conducted by the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) in Greece, had three categories – PV power stations of up to 1 MW; PV stations of between 1 MW and 20 MW; and Wind power stations of between 3 MW and 50 MW.

Greece at the end of April said it would auction up to 300 MW of wind and up to 300 MW of solar power capacity on July 2. Following the receipt of offers and taking into account a 75% oversubscription rule, the available capacity was set at 53.52 MW for the first category, 53.40 MW for the second and 176.39 MW for the third.

The results of the tender, announced on Wednesday July 04, 2018, are as follows:

Category	Capacity awarded	Weighted average price	Starting price
Up to 1 MW PV	53.48 MW	EUR 78.42/MWh	EUR 85.00/MWh
1 MW-20 MW PV	52.92 MW	EUR 63.81/MWh	EUR 80.00/MWh
3 MW-50 MW wind	170.92 MW	EUR 69.53/MWh	EUR 90.00/MWh

The lowest bid was EUR 62.97 per MWh, achieved in the second solar category, for the larger PV plants. 

Greece’s reduced country risk and the drastic drop in RES technology purchase and installation costs, both for solar and wind energy, appear to have been key factors that drove down prices for output remuneration.

RES facility purchase and installation costs have fallen considerably over the past year, especially for wind-energy systems, down by approximately 30 percent. New-technology turbines not only cost less to buy but have made spectacular gains in productivity, enabling the development of sustainable projects even in areas offering low and medium wind-energy potential.

As for the photovoltaic sub-sector, the cost of solar panels has also dropped significantly but anti-dumping measures imposed by the EU and the USA to protect these markets from low-cost Chinese imports have subdued the growth potential.

Besides the lower purchase and installation costs, a downward trend seen continuing to create further sustainability expectations, the low prices reached at Monday’s RES auctions can also be greatly attributed to the considerably lower financing costs enjoyed by foreign enterprises compared to Greek rivals, including major domestic players.

For quite some time now, foreign players have eyed Greece’s RES market, now offering  satisfactory and guaranteed yields, but hesitated to make the move as a result of the elevated country risk factor.

The latest RES auction suggested these concerns are subsiding. The participation of major players such as Germany’s ABO and Portugal’s EDP Renovaveis, both new entries into the Greek market, could, on the one hand, intensify competition and create problems for local firms, but, on the other, could set a trend for more sector investments in the near future.

Three auctions were staged for three sub-categories – small-scale photovoltaic installations of less than one MW; larger-scale PV installations measuring between one and 20 MW; and wind energy installations of between 3 and 50 MW.

1. In the first category (small-scale photovoltaic installations of less than one MW), large projects were broken up into many smaller ones. Egnatia Energia was a dominant participant securing 46 of the catalogue’s 83 projects for a total of 34 MW of the 53 MW offered.

2. In the second category (larger-scale PV installations measuring between one and 20 MW), Germany’s ABO was a main bidder, securing 5 projects with a total capacity of roughly 45 MW at prices of between 62.97 and 62.99 euros per MWh for the output’s remuneration.

3. In the third category (wind energy installations of between 3 and 50 MW), EDP Renovaveis was a main player. It secured a 44.6-MW wind energy park for a price of 68.18 euros per MWh for output.

Other successful bidders included Marmara Pavlidis, securing two projects with a combined capacity of 36 MW; Vedavel (one project, 34-MW); EL.TECH. Anemos (one project, 28.8 MW), Iberdrola Rokas (one project, 16 MW), and PPC Renewables (one project on the island Andros, 11.5 MW).

A total of 83 projects with an overall capacity of 53.4835 MWp qualified for the auction’s first category. Its starting price was set at 85 euros per MWh. The lowest bidding price was 75.87 euros per MWh.

A total of 8 projects with an overall capacity of 52.91896 MWp were selected for the second category. Its starting price was set at 80 euros per MWh. The lowest bidding price was 62.97 euros per MWh.

A total of 7 projects with an overall capacity of 170.925 MWp were selected for the third category. Its starting price was set at 90 euros per MWh. The lowest bidding price was 68.18 euros per MWh.

Investors are like fish. Where there’s water, the fish swim there. And there is now plenty of clean water in Greece…