January 23, 2026
by in News

Greece adds 340 MW of wind farms in 2025, acceleration seen for this year

New wind capacity came in at 340 MW in Greece last year, with 76 onshore turbines installed, according to the Hellenic Wind Energy Association (HWEA or ELETAEN).

Installations increased by 6.4% on an annual scale and represented EUR 420 million in investment. Total wind capacity reached 5,695 MW in the country, with HWEA expecting a 900 MW rise in 2026.

Papastamatiou: 2 GW await connection

Based on these numbers, the wind sector appears to be going through rebirth, after several years of low to average installations. Currently, 1.1 GW of new projects are under construction or contracted and the majority is expected to come online within the next 18 months.

Added on top are 200 MW from previous auctions, which took place during the period 2018-2022. HWEA said that even though 1,592 MW was awarded, only 852.4 MW managed to connect to the grid by the end of 2025.

“Right now, about 2 GW of wind farms have an installation license, but have not been completed. Half of those are under construction or contracted. There are also 3 GW who have completed environmental licensing and await grid connection terms. Naturally, there are even more projects that go through the licensing jumble. All of them – especially the most efficient – constitute national wealth and can reduce energy costs for consumers,” said HWEA’s General Director, Panagiotis Papastamatiou.

Terna Energy and Vestas top the charts

The top 5 operators by capacity in Greece are Terna Energy (18.2%), MORE (13.6%), Iberdrola Rokas (7.2%), Principia (6.5%) and PPC Renewables (5.6%).

Vestas has the highest share among manufacturers, 44%. Enercon accounts for 25%, followed by Siemens Gamesa with 15.8% and Nordex, which is at 9.2%.

Notably, the day with the highest hourly wind share in power production was April 28, 2025, when wind farms supplied 97.2%. In total, these units covered more than 50% of the demand for 616 hours of the year.

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January 22, 2026
by in News

Greece adds 340 MW of wind farms in 2025, acceleration seen for this year

New wind capacity came in at 340 MW in Greece last year, with 76 onshore turbines installed, according to the Hellenic Wind Energy Association (HWEA or ELETAEN).

Installations increased by 6.4% on an annual scale and represented EUR 420 million in investment. Total wind capacity reached 5,695 MW in the country, with HWEA expecting a 900 MW rise in 2026.

Papastamatiou: 2 GW await connection

Based on these numbers, the wind sector appears to be going through rebirth, after several years of low to average installations. Currently, 1.1 GW of new projects are under construction or contracted and the majority is expected to come online within the next 18 months.

Added on top are 200 MW from previous auctions, which took place during the period 2018-2022. HWEA said that even though 1,592 MW was awarded, only 852.4 MW managed to connect to the grid by the end of 2025.

“Right now, about 2 GW of wind farms have an installation license, but have not been completed. Half of those are under construction or contracted. There are also 3 GW who have completed environmental licensing and await grid connection terms. Naturally, there are even more projects that go through the licensing jumble. All of them – especially the most efficient – constitute national wealth and can reduce energy costs for consumers,” said HWEA’s General Director, Panagiotis Papastamatiou.

Terna Energy and Vestas top the charts

The top 5 operators by capacity in Greece are Terna Energy (18.2%), MORE (13.6%), Iberdrola Rokas (7.2%), Principia (6.5%) and PPC Renewables (5.6%).

Vestas has the highest share among manufacturers, 44%. Enercon accounts for 25%, followed by Siemens Gamesa with 15.8% and Nordex, which is at 9.2%.

Notably, the day with the highest hourly wind share in power production was April 28, 2025, when wind farms supplied 97.2%. In total, these units covered more than 50% of the demand for 616 hours of the year.

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January 22, 2026
by in News

Motor Oil’s MORE completes three battery systems in Greece

MORE, standing for Motor Oil Renewable Energy, built three standalone battery energy storage systems in Greece. The company won government support for the projects two years ago at an auction.

Oil refiner Motor Oil Hellas said its green energy arm has installed 72 MW in BESS capability, with 144 MWh in total capacity. The three standalone facilities are in Phocis (Fokida), Florina, and Boeotia (Viotia).

MORE, which is an acronym of Motor Oil Renewable Energy, completed the battery systems in just three months, the update reveals. The company pointed out they are among the first of such a scale in Greece.

“The operation of these energy storage systems will lead to a substantial further reduction in electricity prices for consumers by utilizing renewable energy that is currently being curtailed. At the same time, they will contribute to grid stability and enhance the country’s energy security,” Motor Oil added.

The three projects were selected during the second competitive process of the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Waste and Water (RAAEY or RAEWW) for energy storage systems. It was held in 2024. The investments are funded through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan Greece 2.0 and the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, under the NextGenerationEU program.

According to recent reports, new BESS facilities of 300 MW in combined operating power were waiting for approvals in Greece to be able to start operating.

Athens International Airport (AIA) Eleftherios Venizelos inaugurated a large solar-BESS hybrid power plant last month. Government-controlled Public Power Corp. – PPC Group is building three standalone battery storage systems at its coal plants.

Motor Oil is also involved in hydrogen projects, wind power and carbon capture and storage.

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January 22, 2026
by in News

Motor Oil’s MORE completes three battery systems in Greece

MORE, standing for Motor Oil Renewable Energy, built three standalone battery energy storage systems in Greece. The company won government support for the projects two years ago at an auction.

Oil refiner Motor Oil Hellas said its green energy arm has installed 72 MW in BESS capability, with 144 MWh in total capacity. The three standalone facilities are in Phocis (Fokida), Florina, and Boeotia (Viotia).

MORE, which is an acronym of Motor Oil Renewable Energy, completed the battery systems in just three months, the update reveals. The company pointed out they are among the first of such a scale in Greece.

“The operation of these energy storage systems will lead to a substantial further reduction in electricity prices for consumers by utilizing renewable energy that is currently being curtailed. At the same time, they will contribute to grid stability and enhance the country’s energy security,” Motor Oil added.

The three projects were selected during the second competitive process of the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Waste and Water (RAAEY or RAEWW) for energy storage systems. It was held in 2024. The investments are funded through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan Greece 2.0 and the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, under the NextGenerationEU program.

According to recent reports, new BESS facilities of 300 MW in combined operating power were waiting for approvals in Greece to be able to start operating.

Athens International Airport (AIA) Eleftherios Venizelos inaugurated a large solar-BESS hybrid power plant last month. Government-controlled Public Power Corp. – PPC Group is building three standalone battery storage systems at its coal plants.

Motor Oil is also involved in hydrogen projects, wind power and carbon capture and storage.

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October 14, 2025
by in News

Greek offshore wind farm program at standstill for more than one year

More than three years after the first offshore wind law, Greece made little progress toward achieving the national goal.

According to the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), the country should have its first 1.9 GW of offshore wind farms by 2030.

However, the entire program seems to be on hold. No government official has mentioned it within the past year.

The next steps in the process should be the approval of the National Offshore Wind Program through a joint ministerial decree. According to Insider.gr, the decree has been ready for more than a year now, waiting for the signature. It sent a message to investors that the pace is slow.

Companies selected in the initial auctions would conduct exploration in each allocated offshore zone. The main auctions would follow, for the winners to install the wind power plants.

Exploration permits have so far been provided only to Public Power Corporation (PPC), Terna Energy and Motor Oil Hellas, for a zone in the northeast, offshore Alexandroupolis. It is for pilot projects totaling 600 MW. The wind parks are supposed to become operational by 2029, but the Ministry of Environment and Energy has not yet requested approval from the European Commission for a support mechanism through contracts for difference (CfDs).

More wind needed for the energy mix

It should be noted that the government has acknowledged the need for more wind energy in the country’s renewables mix. Currently, it is dominated by photovoltaics, leading to an imbalance and ever-higher curtailments.

Offshore wind farms are seen more as a source of baseload electricity than solar and onshore wind power, given their high capacity factor, at around 50%.

Advisory firm Ricardo said recently that the Greek NECP is likely going to fail, partly as a result of missing its offshore wind goal.

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May 30, 2025
by in News

Olympus carbon capture project breaks ground in Greece

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is a must for the future of the cement industry, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the launch ceremony for Heracles Group’s Olympus project.

It is one of the very first CCUS plants in Greece, valued at EUR 380 million. The unit in the group’s Milaki cement production complex in the island of Evia (Euboea) is expected to capture up to one million tons of CO2 annually. Emissions from the facility are expected to decrease to net zero by 2029.

Other industrial players also have plans to introduce CCUS.

Cement producer Titan Group is moving forward with a EUR 583 million investment in Boeotia (also Beotia and Viotia) called Ifestos. The carbon capture installation is scheduled for launch in December 2029. In its first year, it is expected to reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere by 1.9 million tons.

Motor Oil Hellas aims to install a unit in its Agioi Theodoroi oil refinery for a cost of EUR 300 million to EUR 400 million. The project is called IRIS – Innovative low caRbon hydrogen and methanol productIon by large Scale carbon capture. It is for the construction and operation of a CCUS and e-methanol production system that would cut the refinery’s CO2 emissions by a quarter.

Motor Oil and Titan have won grants from the European Union’s Innovation Fund.

“Support is needed to make these investments viable. Greece is at the forefront of convincing European institutions to provide it,” said Mitsotakis.

The companies’ executives discussed CCUS market developments this week in Athens with European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra.

Prinos CO2 project to store industrial carbon

Captured carbon from these industries would be transferred to the former underground oil deposit in Prinos, offshore Kavala, for storage. Energean is developing the site, aiming for an annual capacity of three million tons, which would be doubled in the second phase.

The first drilling in Prinos is expected in 2026. Energean’s subsidiary EnEarth has signed 15 memoranda of understanding with various Greek and foreign companies.

The facility would be able to store up to six million tons after the second phase is complete. The National Natural Gas System Operator (DESFA) is tasked with delivering the gas there, under a project called Apollo CO2.

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April 7, 2025
by in News

PPC plans EUR 5.8 billion makeover of Western Macedonia coal region, including data centers

Public Power Corp. (PPC) presented a EUR 5.8 billion investment plan for the coal region of Western Macedonia in northern Greece. It held the ceremony in the retired Kardia 2 lignite-fired power plant.

According to PPC’s chairman and CEO George Stassis, the endeavor consists of the decommissioning of old assets and the rollout of new energy technologies.

Stassis: Western Macedonia can reinvent itself

PPC, or DEI in Greek, said it would return to the government 8,000 hectares of coal land that it no longer needs, after completely restoring it. All equipment, such as 400 kilometers of lignite conveyor belts, cooling towers and excavators, are planned to be recycled up to 95%.

According to the decarbonization timeframe, Ptolemaida 5 will be the last coal plant in the country, continuing to operate until the end of 2026. It is set to be converted to a gas power plant with a capacity of 350 MW. PPC is also open to upgrading it to 500 MW or even 1 GW.

New photovoltaics, storage underway

“Western Macedonia can reinvent itself using new technology,” said the CEO.

The group aims to install a total of 2.1 GW in photovoltaics across the region. A 550 MW solar power plant in the former lignite mine of Ptolemaida is almost complete. It will be the biggest in the Balkans. Separately, a group of clusters of 940 MW is under construction within the Meton joint venture with German RWE.

Energy storage is another major segment in PPC’s investment plan. Within the next three years, it aims to funnel EUR 940 million for a total capacity of 860 MW. It includes two pumped storage hydropower projects. The one in Kardia is for 320 MW and an eight-hour storage duration, and the other in the South Lignite Field – 240 MW and a 12-hour duration. The projects are worth EUR 430 million and EUR 310 million, respectively.

Equally important, battery storage units of 300 MW altogether would be installed in Amyndaio, Akrini, Meliti and Kardia in the country’s main coal region. The other one is Megalopolis in the Peloponnese.

PPC plans a 50 MW hydrogen production facility together with Motor Oil, as Hellenic Hydrogen, and a cogeneration plant to cover district heating needs from the end of 2026.

Large 300 MW data center

Last but not least, the Greek group aims to create a 300 MW data center, as part of an investment of EUR 2.3 billion. A subsidiary in fiber optic cables would upgrade the telecommunication links with Thessaloniki and Igoumenitsa to improve data flow in Greece and abroad.

If conditions are favorable, PPC would further upgrade the data center to 1 GW, increasing its investment by EUR 5.4 billion.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the event that existing infrastructure in Western Macedonia is a great advantage.

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April 6, 2025
by in News

Terna Energy to build solar power plant of 130 MW in Bulgaria

Terna Energy is developing a project for a 130 MW photovoltaic plant near Burgas in Bulgaria. The company, owned by Masdar, plans to connect it to the grid already by the end of next year. Recently it also reached landmark points in the development of wind power projects in Greece.

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. (Masdar), which has high ambitions for its expansion in Southeastern Europe, relies to a great extent on its recently acquired subsidiary Terna Energy. The Greek company revealed that it is preparing to install a 130 MW solar park near the village of Vratitsa in eastern Bulgaria.

The project in the municipality of Kameno in Burgas province includes design and procurement, as well as grid connection works including a new 33/110 kV substation. Terna Energy Group said it is targeting completion by the end of 2026.

As part of the strategic cooperation with the former parent company, GEK Terna, its construction arm Terna SA was selected as the contractor, the announcement reads.

Terna Energy operates two wind farms in Bulgaria, with 30 MW in overall capacity.

With its recent share purchases, Masdar boosted its stake in the Greek company to 97.6% from 87.9%. The green energy giant based in the United Arab Emirates acquired Terna Energy last year.

Wind power projects in Evia progressing

In other recent news, Terna Energy received operating licenses for four projects for a wind power complex. The sites are in Karystos in Greece’s second largest island – Evia, also known as Euboea. It is one of the country’s wind power hubs and an important area for the company.

The Terna Energy Omalies subsidiary is responsible for the said investments, of 78 MW in total. They are part of an endeavor consisting of 11 wind farms.

The location for the biggest of the four, at 36 MW and with 12 turbines, is called Praro. The company ordered 3 MW machines from Enercon for all the sites. Molizeza 1 and Kalamaki 2 are for 18 MW each, and Kalamaki would have 6 MW.

Joint venture with MORE for Greece’s first offshore wind farm

Of note, the construction of wind parks in the Balkans has mostly slowed down. Moreover, Bulgaria has been at a standstill since the first wave of investments died down more than a decade ago, while Romania is struggling to pick up pace. Greece added only 125 MW last year.

Terna Energy is counting on opportunities in the offshore wind domain. In January, it joined forces with Greek refiner Motor Oil in the pilot project for the country’s first facility of the kind.

Motor Oil Renewable Energy (MORE) now holds 50% of joint venture Aioliki Provata Traianoupoleos. The project firm is tasked with developing a 400 MW offshore wind power plant on the Ionnian Sea between Alexandroupolis and the island of Samothrace. The two companies aim to complete it by the end of the decade.

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