Greece gets EC nod for EUR-2.27bn aid scheme for renewables, CHP

The European Commission (EC) said that it has approved Greece’s EUR-2.27-billion (USD 2.56bn) state aid scheme to support power production from renewables and high-efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) plants.

The measure complies with EU state aid rules, and will help Greece support around 4.2 GW of installed capacity as it moves to achieve national and European environmental targets, the EU executive said.

The aid will be available for a variety of renewable energy technologies, namely onshore wind, solar PV, wind and solar PV with storage, biomass, biogas, landfill gas, hydroelectric stations, concentrated solar power (CSP) and geothermal power plants.

Part of the funds will be awarded through competitive auctions, which will be the case for onshore wind and solar. Greece will seek to organise a joint competitive tendering procedure for wind and solar, but if a minimum technology diversification is not attained, auctions for wind and solar may be separated, according to the Commission.

Power production from other renewable energy technologies will be supported directly, subject to certain thresholds. Above those thresholds, competitive tendering procedures will apply.

All support awarded through auctions will be paid under the contract-for-difference model, the EC said. Support for power production exempt from auctions will be paid under a similar mechanism, except that the reference value will be aligned with the technology-related production costs.

The scheme is open until 2025, while the aid can be paid out for a maximum of 20 years.

Greece plans also to finance projects located outside Greece, but the EC did not say where.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.128)

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