EY: Greece ranks 16th in the index for Renewable Energy Sources

Greece ranks 16th in the EY Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI 60), while it ranks second worldwide based on countries’ performance adjusted for their GDP size , according to the latest edition of EY’s semi-annual survey. The survey assesses the world’s top 40 economies and ranks them in terms of the attractiveness of renewable energy (RES) investment opportunities.

The 16th position is the highest Greece has occupied in the thirty-year history of the index, having risen five places since the April edition – the biggest improvement among the index countries – and eight places since the October 2021 edition. As the index rewards the world’s strongest economies, since due to their size, they also have the largest RES markets, the report also includes a second index that adjusts the performance of each country based on Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in order to look into the performance of countries in relation to their economic size. Based on this adjusted index, Greece ranks second, after Morocco, and above Denmark, Jordan, Chile and Ireland.

The 60th RECAI report, released to coincide with COP27 United Nations Conference on Energy Day, finds that governments around the world are accelerating their renewable energy programs to help reduce their dependence on imported energy, at a time of continued geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty.

The findings for Greece

The report notes that the Greek parliament approved changes to legislation in June that will help speed up the licensing of energy projects. The new legislation is expected to reduce the average time required to permit green projects, from five years, to 14 months, with pre-set deadlines, as well as penalties and fines for delaying the permit process. It also envisages the development of at least 3.5GW of energy storage capacity by 2030 (a capacity that may, according to the Ministry’s announcement, increase significantly further) and increased grid connections for renewable energy sources.

The measures are expected to play a key role in supporting the achievement of the target of 25GW of renewable energy (not including hydro) by 2030.

In addition, in July Greece started the offshore wind farm program, with the passing of the first relevant law, while today the process of determining the offshore wind energy zones and the criteria for the auctions is underway, while it has set a goal, in the context of the National Energy and Climate Plan, the inclusion of at least 2GW of offshore wind by 2030, much of which will come from floating offshore wind farms. At the same time, energy transmission system operators are in the process of identifying connection possibilities for future RES projects.

In September, Greece awarded 538.4MW of capacity through the latest RES auction, of which 372MW concerns 14 solar parks, with an average price of €47.98/MWh, while 166MW concerns wind energy projects with an average price of €57.66/ MWh.

Finally, the report notes that Greece continues to attract great investment interest in RES, with several major deals announced.