Since 1 December, the regulator received a total of 1,857 applications for RES projects with a combined capacity of 45.5 GW, while even the most optimistic estimates had only pointed to a total capacity of 20 GW. The number of applications for new RES projects has exceeded all expectations in this month’s round by the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE). If one factors in the projects for 29 GW that RAE has issued licenses for, the total investment interest in RES projects comes to 14 times the target set out in the national energy plan for new capacity of 9 GW by end-2030.
Almost 80 % of the applications (36.2 GW) are related to solar projects, another 8.6 GW to wind farms and the rest to small hydropower plants, biomass power plants, hybrid technologies and facilities for the joint production of heating and electricity. This high interest, mainly in solar energy, comes from all categories of local and foreign investors, ranging from major international and Greek groups to small companies and cooperatives, not to mention investment funds from around the world. It remains to be seen how many of those projects will actually be implemented.
