The European Commission has approved a €1 billion (US$1.1 billion) Greek state aid measure to support two solar-plus-storage projects.
Consisting of two solar PV projects co-located with storage, the first one is the Faethon Project, comprising two solar plants of 252MW of capacity each and will be integrated with molten-salt thermal storage units, along with an extra-high voltage substation. This project aims to enable electricity generation during the day with the surplus to be stored and then discharged during times of peak consumption in the evenings or at night.
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The other project, the Seli Project, will have 309MW of solar PV capacity and an integrated lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS). This project aims to optimise electricity generation and grid stability.
The EC did not disclose the storage capacity, nor output, on either project. Construction of both projects is targeted to be completed by mid-2025.
The financial aid will be carried out via a two-way contract for difference (CfD) over a 20-year period. The strike price will be determined by a technical committee on the basis of, inter alia, a cost-benefit analysis and a risk assessment. Whereas the reference price is expected to be determined as a monthly output-weighted average of the market price of electricity in the day-ahead markets.
In case of the reference price being lower than the strike price, the beneficiaries will be entitled to receive payments equal to the difference between the two; however if the opposite happens – reference price higher than strike price – the beneficiaries will have to pay the difference to Greek authorities.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, said: “These €1 billion measures support two innovative renewable projects that will accelerate the green transition, while minimising potential distortions to competition.”
Cero Development to add 749MWh storage to PV plant
In related Greek news, Macquarie-backed developer Cero Development Hellas received approval from the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Waste and Water (RAEWW) to change its producer certificate for its 370MW solar PV plant to add energy storage, as reported by Newmoney.
The BESS will have a nameplate capacity of 749MWh, although it will not be able to receive power from the grid, but only deliver electricity to it.
Both the solar PV plant and BESS will be located in the Central Greek region of Fthiotida.
Cero Generation increases its presence in Greece, with the co-location of storage to one of its solar PV plants, a country where the developer said, at the time, it launched the “first” private power purchase agreement (PPA) utility-scale solar project, back in 2022.
| PV Tech publisher Solar Media will be organizing the second edition of Large Scale Solar Southern Europe in Athens, Greece during 2-3 July 2024. The event will focus on an ever-growing market such as Southern Europe with a packed programme of panels, presentations and fireside chats from industry leaders responsible for the build-out of solar PV projects in Greece, Turkey and Croatia. More information, including how to attend, can be read here. |