Renewable energy policy database and support

In December 2016, a pilot tender for PV installations was launched. A sliding FiP was awarded to successful bidders. The pilot tender included two categories of PV installations (ch. A art.1 par.1.2 RAE Decision 417/2016 in conjunction with art.7 par.9a Law No.4414/2016): 

• Category A: PV installations ˂1MW 
• Category B: PV installations ˃1MW

The total cumulative capacity for both categories capacities amounteds to 40 MW (ch.A art.1 par.1.2 RAE Decision 417/2016 in conjunction with art.7 par.9a Law No.4414/2016). Furthermore, tThe initial starting bidding prices was set at 104 €/ MWh for category A and 94€/ MWh for category B 40MW (ch.A art.1 par.1.2 RAE Decision 417/2016 in conjunction with art.7 par.9c Law No.4414/2016). For the July 2018 round two categories of PV installations were eligible

• Category A: PV installations ˂1MW
• Category B: PV installations between 1MW-20MW

The total cumulative capacity for Category A was set at 70 MW and the initial bidding price was set at 85 €/ MWh (Call 1/2018, art. 1 par.5 RAE Decision 321/2018). For category B, total cumulative capacity was set at 230 MW and the initial bidding price was set at 94 €/ MWh Call 2/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 321/2018).

For the December 2018 round two categories of PV installations were eligible

• Category A: PV installations ˂1 MW
• Category B: PV installations between 1 MW-20 MW

The total cumulative capacity for Category A was set at 94MW and the initial bidding price was set at 81.71 €/ MWh (Call 4/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 1026/2018). For category B, the total cumulative capacity was set at 100 MW and the initial bidding price was set at 71.91€/ MWh Call 5/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 1026/2018).

For 2019, 300 MW added with the remained undistributed capacity from the 2018 tenders will be auctioned (art. 2 RAE Decision 1026/2018).

For the July 2018 round, wind energy between 3 MW - 50 MW are eligible. Total installed capacity is capped at 300 MW and the initial bidding price was set at 90 €/ MWh (Call 1/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 321/2018). For December 2018 wind energy between 3 MW - 50 MW are eligible. The tTotal installed capacity is capped at 229 MW and the initial bidding price was set at 79.77 €/ MWh (Call 6/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 1026/2018).

For 2019, 300MW added with the remained undistributed capacity from the 2018 tenders will be auctioned (art. 2 RAE Decision 1026/2018).

To participate in a tender, Initial participation requirements include the pplant operators have to submit to LAGIE s (ch.A art.1 par.1.2st RAE Decision 417/2016 in conjunction with art.7 par.10 Law No.4414/2016): 

• An active connection agreement or; 
• An active final grid connection offer with a submitted letter of guarantee that amounts to 1% of the total investment cost.

In addition, tender participants must pay a participation fee for each PV installation (ch.A art.8 RAE Decision 417/2016 in conjunction with art.7 par.10 Law No.4414/2016).

For the 2018 tenders the following pre-qualification criteria are applied (Call 4-5-6/2018 art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 1026/2018)

• An active connection agreement or
• An active final grid connection offer
• a letter of guarantee for participation that amounts to 1% of the total investment cost
• the participation fee (€500 for PV Category A and €1,000 for PV Category B and Wind Energy)

The pilot tender (in December 2016) has followed a two-stage proceduress: 

• First stage:- Submission of the application for participation to RAE along with other application and submission of related participation documents (ch.B art.10 par.1.1 RAE Decision 417/2016) 
• Second stage:- Participation in an to the electronic auction and selection of tender winners (ch.B art.10 par.1.2 RAE Decision 417/2016).

The electronic auction follows the “Yankee Auction” format, where the lowest bid will beis accepted (ch.B art.14 par.2.3 RAE Decision 417/2016).

The 2018 tenders followed a two-stage procedure:

• First stage: Submission of the application for participation to RAE along with other related documents (Call 4-5-6/2018 ch. B art. 10 par. 1 RAE Decision 1026/2018)
• Second stage: Participation in an electronic auction and selection of tender winners (Call 4-5-6/2018 ch. B art. 10 par. 2 RAE Decision 1026/2018)

The electronic auction follows the “Yankee Auction” format, where the lowest bid is accepted (Call 4-5-6/2018 ch.B art.14 par.2.3 RAE Decision 1026/2018). 

Price caps. The initial bidding price for the pilot tender in 2016 was set at 104 €/MWh for category A and 94 €/MWh for category B PV installations (ch. A art. 1 par. 1.2 RAE Decision 417/2016 in conjunction with art. 7 par. 9c Law No. 4414/2016).

For the July 2018 tender the initial bidding price for PV Category A was set at 85 €/ MWh (Call 1/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 321/2018). For category B, the initial bidding price was set at 94€/ MWh (Call 2/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 321/2018). Initial bidding price for wind energy was set at 90 €/ MWh (Call 3/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 321/2018).

For the December 2018 tender, the initial bidding price for PV category A was set at 81.71 €/ MWh (Call 4/2018, art.1 par.5 RAE Decision 1026/2018). For category B, the initial bidding price was set at 71.91€/ MWh Call 5/2018, art.1 par.5 RAE Decision 1026/2018). Initial bidding price for wind energy was set at 79.77 €/ MWh (Call 6/2018, art.1 par.5 RAE Decision 1026/2018).

Volume caps. The total cumulative capacity for both PV installation categories amounted to 40 MW. For category A PV installations 4 - 7 MW were available, while for category B 33 - 36 MW were awarded (ch. A art. 1 par. 1.2 RAE Decision 417/2016 in conjunction with art. 7 par. 9a Law No. 4414/2016). For the July 2018 tender, total cumulative capacity for Category A was set at 70 MW (Call 1/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 321/2018) and for PV category B was set at 230 MW (Call 2/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 321/2018). Wind energy capacity is capped at 300 MW (Call 3/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 321/2018).

For the December 2018 tender, total cumulative capacity for Category A was set at 94 MW (Call 4/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 1026/2018) for category B 100 MW (Call 5/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 1026/2018) and 229 MW for wind energy (Call 6/2018, art. 1 par. 5 RAE Decision 1026/2018). Furthermore, the tender will take place only if the bids submitted to the tender exceeds 40% of the auctioned capacity (ch.B art. 10 par. 1.1.3 RAE Decision 417/2016). For the 2018 tenders, the level of competition is set at 75% (Call 4-5-6/2018 ch. B art. 10 par. 1.1.3 RAE Decision 1026/2018).

In Greece, ‘pay as bid’ bidding process is followed (ch.B art. 14 par. 2.3 RAE Decision 417/2016 and Call 4-5-6/2018 ch. B art. 10 par. 1.1.3 RAE Decision 1026/2018). It means that theat successful bidders receive a subsidy linked to the level of their bid, meaning that each tenderer may receive a contract for a different subsidy level at the end of the bidding process, even if they are all providing the same service.

The tendered capacity must be commissioned within 18 months for category A and 24 months for category B PV installations (art.7 par. 9e Law No.4414/2016). For the 2018 tenders, the following deadlines are set:

• For PV Category A: 12 months after the publication of the tender results (Call 1/2018 art. 1 par. 6 RAE Decision 321/2018 and Call 4/2018 art. 1 par. 6 RAE Decision 1026/2018)

• For PV Category B: 15 months for PV between 1 MW - 5 MW and 18 months for PV > 5 MW. 6 months are added if PV is connected to the Transmission System via a substation (Call 2/2018 art. 1 par. 6 RAE Decision 321/2018 and Call 5/2018 art. 1 par. 6 RAE Decision 1026/2018) • For wind energy: 24 months for wind between 3 MW -– 10 MW and 36 months for Wind > 10 MW. 6 months are added, if the plant is connected to the Transmission System through a substation (Call 3/2018 art. 1 par. 6 RAE Decision 321/2018 and Call 5/2018 art. 1 par. 6 RAE Decision 1026/2018).

After consultation with the Regulatory Authority for Energy, the Ministry of Environment and Energy shall issue a decision specifying the frequency of the tenders as well as the capacities available for each technology and each tender separately (art. 7 par. 2 Law No. 4414/2016). For 2019, 300 MW of PV and 300 MW for wind energy added with the remained undistributed capacity from the 2018 tenders will be auctioned (art. 2 RAE Decision 1026/2018).

The feed-in premium is disbursed from the “Special Account for RES and CHP”. The revenue of this Account is acquired through trading GHG emission allowances (art. 143 par. 3b Law No. 4001/2011).

The costs of the feed-in premium system are borne by the consumers, who are obliged to pay a "Special Tax for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gases", which is added to their electricity bills (art. 40 par. 3c Law No. 2773/1999). The tax depends on the consumer category, is revised twice a year by the Regulatory Authority for Energy and varies from € 2.47 to 26.08 per MWh (RAE Resolution No. 1101/2017 in conjunction with art. 143 Par. 3a Law No. 4001/2011). 

Plant operators and electricity suppliers pay fees for the “Day Ahead Scheduling” as well as the sums that might emerge from Imbalance Settlement (art. 143 par. 3a Law No. 4001/2011).

The Former LAGIE-DAPEEP (RES and Guarantees of Origin Regulator) reimburses the foreseen support, i.e. feed-in premium, through a “Special Account for RES and CHP” (Art. 40 Par. 3c Law No. 2773/1999 in conjunction with Art. 1 Min Res /F1/oik. 17149 in conjunction with Art. 143 Par. 2 Law No. 4001/2011). The “Special Account for RES and CHP” is divided in two basic categories: “Special Account for RES and CHP for the Transmission System” and “Special Account for RES and CHP for non-interconnected system”. “Special Account for RES and CHP for the Transmission System” is further divided into subaccounts:

1. “Subaccount of Electricity Market”, whose revenues are (art. 143 par. 3a Law No. 4001/2011):

• Fees, which plant operators and electricity suppliers pay for the “Day Ahead Scheduling”, as well as the sums that might emerge from the Imbalance Settlement;
• Revenues derived from Load Representatives for the electricity purchased in the wholesale electricity market;
• Any new charges imposed by the Ministry of Environment and Energy from 2018 on Load Representatives.

2. “Subaccount of Support”, whose revenues include (art. 143 par. 3b Law No. 4001/2011):

• The costs of the feed-in tariff system are borne by the consumers, who are obliged to pay a "Special Tax for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gases", which is added to their electricity bills (art. 40 par. 3c Law No. 2773/1999). The tax depends on the consumer category, is revised twice a year by the Regulatory Authority for Energy and varies from € 2.47 to 26.08 per MWh (RAE Decision No. 1101/2017 in conjunction with art. 143 Par. 2c Law No. 4001/2011);
• Any revenue that is acquired through trading GHG emission allowances constitutes revenue of the “Special Account for RES and CHP” from which the feed-in tariff is paid out;
• “Special Levy on Lignite” that lignite plant operators are obliged to pay and that amounts to € 2 per MWh;
• the surplus of the “Special Account for RES and CHP for non-interconnected system”;
• any other charges foreseen by law. A similar categorisation is foreseen for the “Special Account for RES and CHP for a non-interconnected system” (art. 143 par. 4 Law No. 4001/2011).