January 15, 2026
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Greece installs 2.5 GW of solar in 2025 as utility segment dominates

Greece is expected to reach its 2030 goal early in solar installations, according to SolarPower Europe’s latest data.

The association expects Greece to achieve the goal of 13.5 GW this year. By the end of the decade, there will be 21.5 GW in installed solar capacity, based on the most probable scenario, up from 12.22 GW, estimated for 2025.

Greece added 2.5 GW, slightly lower than the record 2.6 GW increase of 2024, the update showed. It places the country at the number seven spot, behind Germany (17.6 GW), Spain (9.2 GW), France (6.7 GW), Italy (5.2 GW), Poland (3.7 GW) and Romania (2.5 GW).

Greece was the fourth-best country in Europe in terms of solar installations per capita, with 1,223 W, trailing the Netherlands (1,582 W), Germany (1,405 W) and Estonia (1,335 W), according to the estimate.

Net billing and delays stymied the rooftops segment expansion

A significant drop took place in the Greek rooftops and commercial and industrial (C&I) segments, as a result of the switch from net metering to net billing, as well as administrative delays. Utility-scale activity offset part of this decline, resulting in only a slight contraction for the year, SolarPower Europe said in its annual outlook. In total, 72% of new capacities were of utility size, with the rest being in all other categories.

Self-consumption systems have surpassed 1 GW in total capacity. While community solar projects account for nearly 20% of total installed photovoltaic capacity, most are not used for self-consumption, and their significance in terms of new installations is declining.

Future growth depends on storage and power demand

Looking ahead, SolarPower Europe considered Greece to be on a strong growth path, with utility-scale projects driving most new additions and a large storage programme expected to ease integration challenges later in the decade.

Residential and C&I segments continue to struggle with policy delays and the shift to net billing, while rising curtailment and low-price hours weigh on investor confidence, the association noted. About 8% of potential renewable energy generation is curtailed, and this rises to over 11% for PV output. The number of hours with zero or negative prices in the day-ahead electricity market almost doubled in 2025. Still, the number of hours impacting power plant revenue remains lower than in many other European countries.

While the overall market is expected to grow in the short term, further expansion is dependent on electricity demand growth, as well on the pace of deploying storage, grid upgrades and self-consumption rules.

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January 13, 2026
by in News

Greece installs 2.5 GW of solar in 2025 as utility segment dominates

Greece is expected to reach its 2030 goal early in solar installations, according to SolarPower Europe’s latest data.

The association expects Greece to achieve the goal of 13.5 GW this year. By the end of the decade, there will be 21.5 GW in installed solar capacity, based on the most probable scenario, up from 12.22 GW, estimated for 2025.

Greece added 2.5 GW, slightly lower than the record 2.6 GW increase of 2024, the update showed. It places the country at the number seven spot, behind Germany (17.6 GW), Spain (9.2 GW), France (6.7 GW), Italy (5.2 GW), Poland (3.7 GW) and Romania (2.5 GW).

Greece was the fourth-best country in Europe in terms of solar installations per capita, with 1,223 W, trailing the Netherlands (1,582 W), Germany (1,405 W) and Estonia (1,335 W), according to the estimate.

Net billing and delays stymied the rooftops segment expansion

A significant drop took place in the Greek rooftops and commercial and industrial (C&I) segments, as a result of the switch from net metering to net billing, as well as administrative delays. Utility-scale activity offset part of this decline, resulting in only a slight contraction for the year, SolarPower Europe said in its annual outlook. In total, 72% of new capacities were of utility size, with the rest being in all other categories.

Self-consumption systems have surpassed 1 GW in total capacity. While community solar projects account for nearly 20% of total installed photovoltaic capacity, most are not used for self-consumption, and their significance in terms of new installations is declining.

Future growth depends on storage and power demand

Looking ahead, SolarPower Europe considered Greece to be on a strong growth path, with utility-scale projects driving most new additions and a large storage programme expected to ease integration challenges later in the decade.

Residential and C&I segments continue to struggle with policy delays and the shift to net billing, while rising curtailment and low-price hours weigh on investor confidence, the association noted. About 8% of potential renewable energy generation is curtailed, and this rises to over 11% for PV output. The number of hours with zero or negative prices in the day-ahead electricity market almost doubled in 2025. Still, the number of hours impacting power plant revenue remains lower than in many other European countries.

While the overall market is expected to grow in the short term, further expansion is dependent on electricity demand growth, as well on the pace of deploying storage, grid upgrades and self-consumption rules.

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August 18, 2025
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North Macedonia’s draft law envisages renewable energy auctions for CfDs

North Macedonia drafted the Law on the Use of Energy from Renewable Sources to facilitate a decrease in fossil fuel consumption and a rise in the share of green energy. The legislation introduces market premiums under two-way contracts for difference (CfDs), which would be approved through renewable energy auctions. It also regulates net metering and net billing for prosumers and defines renewable energy communities.

The Ministry of Energy, Mining and Minerals of North Macedonia called on citizens, experts and stakeholders to submit opinions and proposals for the draft Law on the Use of Energy from Renewable Sources. It will regulate the segment separately for the first time, “following the example of a large number of countries in the region and the EU,” the statement adds.

The public debate lasts until August 30. According to the ministry, the most significant novelty is the two-way contract for difference (CfD). It is defined in Macedonian as contract for market settlement of the price difference. The bill envisages awarding such market premiums through renewable energy auctions.

It is a mechanism that guarantees financial stability for renewable energy producers and protects consumers from extreme price fluctuations, the ministry argued. The draft is fully aligned with the European Union’s energy legislation including the Renewable Energy Directive (RED3), the update adds.

Basis for renewables deployment in heating, cooling, transportation

The proposed measures aim to lower the use of fossil fuels and grow the share of renewables in gross energy consumption, the ministry added. They facilitate support for long-term investments and faster deployment of renewable energy in heating, cooling and transportation, it underscored.

Guarantees of origin of electricity are included in the bill, together with a framework for international cooperation and energy markets.

The draft establishes the basis for the establishment of renewable energy communities of citizens and companies and other legal entities such as local authorities. The scope also involves net metering and net billing for prosumers – “consumers-producers.”

Multiapartment structures can become prosumers with units up to 50 kW

While the ministry earlier said it would raise the upper capacity limit for prosumers in the segment of households to 10 kW, the ceiling in the draft law is 10.8 kW for individual homes and 50 kW for multiapartment structures. The draft also introduces the collective prosumer, a group of citizens and commercial entities residing in the same building or apartment complex.

Prosumers with units up to 16 kW would be in the net metering mechanism. Net billing is for 16 kW to 50 kW, and larger facilities are envisaged for a commercial supply scheme.

Notably, prosumers operating power plants of over 300 kW are obligated to cover the balancing expenses, the text reads.

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July 30, 2025
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Over 20,000 prosumer units connected in Greece in last 18 months

Greece’s distribution system operator HEDNO added more than 20,000 prosumers in the past year and a half, although the new net billing program faces delays.

Last year the government in Athens formally ended the net metering scheme and enacted net billing, aligning with the European Union’s regulations. Any aspiring prosumer with an existing application can switch to the new mechanism for free. The connection charge is EUR 370 per unit.

In the net billing mechanism, the compensation for the prosumer for the electricity delivered to the grid is based on the hourly wholesale price of electricity, instead of a fixed tariff. Projects are limited to a maximum 10.8 kW for households and 100 kW for businesses and energy communities. Virtual billing is also allowed, meaning that production and consumption can be in different locations.

Total capacity almost at 1 GW

According to data from the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO or DEDDIE), more than 20,000 individual prosumer units have been connected to the grid over the last 18 months, with the majority being connected under net metering.

It brought the overall number of prosumer installations to 35,312, with a total capacity of 995 MW, according to the update.

HEDNO also said 705 applications were in the final stages of the licensing process.

Limited interest from suppliers and aggregators

Despite high interest, progress in adding units within the net billing scheme has been slow. Only two electricity suppliers currently provide such contracts to prosumers and just one of them includes businesses, Energypress reported.

There is limited interest among aggregators to represent corporate net billing installations in the market. As for household units, the Renewable Energy Sources Operator and Guarantees of Origin (DAPEEP) provides the service free of charge.

Market participants are urging improvements in the relevant ministerial decree on net billing, for things to move forward. One of them would be to simplify contracts.

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May 7, 2025
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Self-consumption capacity set to break 1 GW in Greece

Renewable energy projects for self-consumption are expected to reach 1 GW this year in Greece.

According to the Green Tank, at the end of March 2025, self-consumption capacity amounted to 937.6 MW, of which the overwhelming majority (871.9 MW) was in photovoltaics.

It should be noted that last year the government introduced a big change in the segment. The net metering regime was abandoned in favor of net billing, following European guidelines.

Insufficient capacity limit

There were 32,955 self-consumption units in the country at the end of the first quarter. Projects in operation plus remaining applications are estimated at 1,865 MW, which is near the 2 GW ceiling, set by law.

Energy communities, small companies, farmers and individuals have asked for the available capacity to be increased.

They also complain that the Hellenic Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO or DEDDIE) is too slow with connecting them to the grid. The operator has mostly been integrating units in the category of up to 10.8 kW, while ignoring larger projects.

The Renewable Energy Sources Operator and Guarantees of Origin (DAPEEP) began accepting net billing applications for projects of over 10.8 kW only last month. It means it needs to accelerate connections to keep pace.

Renewable energy aggregators have warned that the regulatory framework is unclear when it comes to such projects and their representation in the market.

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April 15, 2025
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Croatia changing law on renewables – new rules for prosumers, decentralized power production

The Government of Croatia has adopted the amendments to the law on renewable energy sources and high-efficiency cogeneration. They change rules for consumers producing electricity for self-consumption, facilitate the establishment of citizen energy communities and regulate decentralized energy production.

The amendments align the Croatian legislation with the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive and bring benefits to citizens, entrepreneurs, and investors, the Ministry of Economy said.

One of important innovations is a new scheme for the production of energy for self-consumption. Instead of the current net metering mechanism, the new law introduces net billing. It values more fairly the surplus electricity that prosumers deliver to the grid, according to the ministry.

The grid costs charged to prosumers will be aligned with the actual amount of electricity that they take from the grid

Consumers – citizens and entrepreneurs that produce energy for their own needs, will pay grid costs matching the amount of electricity they actually take from it, enabling a sustainable and fair system for all users, the ministry added.

Existing prosumers will have ten years for the transition to the new scheme.

The bill enables the production of electricity for self-consumption in remote locations, provided that all metering points are registered with the same consumer. The ministry expects the measure to pave the way for greater investments, flexibility, and decentralized energy production.

Waste separation is a condition for granting incentives for waste incineration

The rules for establishing citizen energy communities have been simplified, to further strengthen their role in the energy transition. The amendments stricten the criteria for the sustainability of biofuels and they prohibit incentivizing the incineration of waste not from a system of separate collection.

The upcoming law sets the basis for a plan for the development of electricity infrastructure and storage capacities. It will create the conditions for greater integration of renewable energy sources into the grid, the ministry stressed.

“With this law we are taking an important step forward in the energy transition, ensuring a balance between the interests of citizens, the economy, and the energy system, and creating the foundations for a sustainable development of the Croatian energy sector in the long term,” Minister Ante Šušnjar stated.

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