Hellenic Wind Energy Association: 83MW wind farms installed in 2022 first half

The power of 28 new wind turbines connected to the grid in the first half of 2022 rose to 83.1 MW, bringing the total wind power in Greece at the end of June to 4,534 MW.

This results from the six-monthly Wind Energy Statistics announced by the Hellenic Wind Energy Association HWEA/ELETAEN.

The power capacity installed in the first semester does not differ significantly from that installed in the second half of 2021 and is 3 times less than the power installed in the first half of t2020.

As HWEA points out, the slowdown during the last two semesters is due to the increased bureaucracy and administrative obstacles that delay investments, as well as the increased construction times of the projects.

However, it is noted that at the end of June 2022 over 650 MW of new wind farms were under construction, the majority of which are expected to be connected to the grid within the next 12 months.

Geographical distribution

At the level of Regions, Central Greece remains at the top of wind installations since it hosts 1861 MW (41%), followed by Peloponnese with 639 MW (14%) and Eastern Macedonia – Thrace where there are 534 MW (12%).

The geographical distribution of wind power in Greece is shown by Region in the following map.

Investors

As far as business groups are concerned, the Top-5 are:

TERNA Energy with 703 MW (15.5%)
ELLAKTOR with 482 MW (10.6%)
ENEL Green Power with 368 MW (8.1%)
Iberdrola Rokas with 304 MW (6.7%) and
Total Eren with 250 MW (5.5%)
They are followed by EDF, Motor Oil Renewable Energy (MORE), the Mytileneos Group, PPC Renewables and others.

During the first half of 2022, the following firms completed wind farms and connected them to the grid:

Iberdrola Rokas (33.6MW)
the Elica of the Kopelouzos group (20.7MW)
Cubico (12MW)
and others with smaller investments.

Manufacturers

The picture for wind turbine manufacturers is as follows:

Vestas has supplied 44.8% of the total attributed wind power in Greece.
Enercon 25.4%,
Siemens Gamesa 18.2%,
Nordex 6.9% and
GE Renewable Energy 3.4%.

Especially for the first half of 2022, the new wind turbines were supplied by:

Vestas by 54.2% (45 MW),
Enercon by 42.2% (35.1 MW) and
Goldwind by 3.6% (3MW).
All the figures mentioned above refer to wind power connected to the grid.

The projects from bidding competitions

During the period 2018-2021, wind farms with a total capacity of 1,426MW have been selected through Regulatory Authority for Energy tenders. But mainly due to delays caused by bureaucratic obstacles, only 312MW, i.e. 22%, had managed to operate by the end of June 2022.

These delays are not without consequences. The weighted average price of the wind turbines that have been selected in tenders and have not yet been implemented is less than €58/MWh and their total power is 1,115MW. These projects, if completed on time, would provide yet another relief to Greek consumers plagued by the fossil fuel energy crisis.

On the occasion of the publication of the Statistics, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of HWEA Panagiotis Ladakakos, noted the low rate of installation of new wind farms and expressed hopes that within the next 12 months, this unfavorable picture will be reversed. For this to happen, however, the State must reduce bureaucracy and contribute positively to ensuring the implementation of new investments, opined Mr. Ladakakos.

It is characteristic that if all the wind farms selected by RAE tenders in the last four years had been completed, the wind power would be 25% higher today.