Two complaints to the European Commission allege that Greece’s repowering policy and high-value bonds for battery storage projects are blocking upgrades, raising costs and hindering the energy transition, according to industry body Pospief.
Several Greek solar energy producers have submitted two separate letters of complaint against the Greek government to the European Commission. Thessaloniki-based Pospief, an association of Greek solar energy producers, coordinated the campaign.
The first complaint concerns policies that repower older renewable projects, including PV arrays and wind farms that are completing their life cycle or need major hardware upgrades. Some PV installations have been destroyed in recent natural disasters, and investors are also looking to replace panels and inverters to increase solar energy output.
“RES and High Efficiency CHP stations that will undergo radical renovation from October 31, 2024, [need to] participate exclusively in the market and cannot receive operational support for the entire duration of the operation of the new stations,” said Pospief Secretary General Petros Tsikouras.
The policy effectively eliminates access to existing support schemes, requires completely new permits, new offers for grid connections and the submission of new bank guarantee letters. A total of 214 Greek solar energy producers signed the complaint, supported by Pospief.
Tsikouras said the policy contradicts EU requirements for rapid, simplified and proportionate repowering procedures, contradicts the efficient use of existing infrastructure and introduces discriminatory treatment for investors modernizing or rehabilitating stations.
The second complaint focuses on Greece’s energy storage policy, specifically a 4.7 GW program for new, standalone utility-scale battery projects. The programme, published in the Government Gazette in March, includes 3.8 GW connected to the transmission network and 900 MW to the distribution network. Projects above 10 MW must be requested from the transmission system operator; smaller projects apply to the distribution manager.
Investors must provide performance bonds of €200,000 ($234,700)/MW for transmission-connected projects and €50,000/MW for distribution-connected projects. Pospief and 229 signatories argue that these requirements are counterproductive, citing other EU member states where bonds rarely exceed €10,000/MW. They warn that high bond amounts could exclude small investors, causing large companies to dominate the energy storage market.
Tsikouras emphasized the urgency of developing energy storage.
“Greece has curtailed around 1.85 TWh of renewable energy in 2025. Of this, the majority corresponds to solar energy, as the curtailments mainly take place between 9am and 4pm, the time when solar farms generate power,” he said. “Renewable energy curtailments have increased tenfold this year compared to last year, while Greece may have to curtail 20 times more green energy in 2026 than in 2024. This will no longer be a sustainable business case. Greater curtailments mean significantly lower income; therefore, investors will no longer be able to service their bank loans.”
To date, Greece has not connected any large-scale battery projects to the electricity grid. A separate 900 MW procurement program for standalone storage projects has delivered approximately 300 MW of installed capacity, but these facilities are still disconnected. Tsikouras said the main concern is the continued slow development. Pospief asks the Greek government to lower bond requirements so that more investors can participate and expand energy storage capacity.
This content is copyrighted and may not be reused. If you would like to collaborate with us and reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
