- Many domestic and foreign companies are interested in building energy storage facilities in Greece using battery technology.
- The goal is to provide low-cost solutions similar to pumped hydropower for the grid.
A large number of domestic and foreign companies are interested in building energy storage facilities in Greece using battery technology. The Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) receives applications for permits concerning battery storage plants ranging from a few megawatts to hundreds of megawatts daily. In total, applications to RAE reached 1.6 GW during October’s licensing cycle. This is on top of projects with 23.5 GW in total that was already submitted by over 300 companies.
The new National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) is expected to target over 3 GW of storage to be installed by the end of the decade, so the race is on to acquire permits, while the market still awaits the new regulatory framework for storage, as well as specialized auctions that are expected to begin at the end of the first quarter. Germany-based Voltstorage has acquired permits from RAE for three plants totalling 150 MW in operating power. The projects are expected to be installed in Western Macedonia, Central Greece, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace provinces. It should be noted that Voltstorage, apart from batteries, is also developing a potentially groundbreaking new long-duration storage technology using iron salt. The goal is to provide low-cost solutions similar to pumped hydropower for the grid.
Apart from standalone battery projects, companies are keen to include batteries in existing renewable energy investments to acquire priority in their connection terms. According to the most recent decree, issued in 2022, if a renewable energy project has battery storage, it gains two steps in the priority ladder. The Ministry of Environment and Energy has specified a maximum power capacity limit of 250 MW storage for each plant.