Finnish investment company Korkia has funded a partnership with Greek developers GH Energy and AA Sunshine to develop solar power parks in mainland Greece and Crete.
The company is targeting a renewable capacity of over 1GW, with the projects including energy storage to help in the balancing of the electrical system.
With a target to start construction of the solar PV projects in 2024, Korkia has partnered with GH Energy in Thessaly and AA Sunshine in Crete.
Two subsea cables will be laid between the island of Crete and the mainland of Greece, with the first one already operational and the second one expected to be finished by the end of 2023.
What drove the construction of these cables was to integrate the island into the main transmission system and to reinforce the transmission network, according to Korkia.
This will allow the island to become a solar PV hub providing renewable energy to mainland Greece.
PV Tech Premium has previously reported how the Greek solar market is “about to take off” as the country’s PV sector benefits from rising demand for renewable offtake agreements from corporations and clean energy policies from the European Union.
The country is targeting to produce half of its electrical power from renewables sources by 2030 and expects to have 25GW of installed renewables capacity, up from around 10GW it currently has.
Mikko Kantero, executive vice president of renewable energy at Korkia, said: “It is great to be able to be involved in speeding up the green transition in Greece, working together with the best local professionals. This business is all about being local and our role is to back the locals, be an enabler and accelerator of the green transition.”
Earlier this year, Kantero told PV Tech Premium that Greece was a priority on its list of markets to enter and highlighted the importance of choosing local developers to enter new markets.