Greece passes its first offshore wind bill

On 28 July, the Greek Parliament passed a bill comprising regulations on the permitting of offshore wind projects and their development and operation, marking the country’s first legislative move on offshore wind energy.

The bill – Provisions for the simplification of environmental licensing, establishing a framework for the development of Offshore Wind Farms, dealing with the energy crisis, environmental protection and other provisions – consists of five parts and several “interventions” covering various segments concerning environment and energy, including offshore wind and natural gas, as well as land use and circular economy.

The part on offshore wind lays the groundwork for permitting and development and operation of offshore wind farms, as well as the tendering procedure, with an aim of reaching 2 GW of installed capacity by 2030.

The bill provides for the state to designate marine areas for offshore wind development, with the public playing a key role, and to control the licensing process, from site investigation permits to development consent.

Research permits will be granted to interested parties who meet specific technical and financial criteria and submit a Letter of Guarantee.

Within two years of the first round of applications for granting research permits, each development area will be put to public consultation.

In the two months after the consultation ends, the Minister of Environment and Energy will issue a decision on the allocation of the project sites within the development areas and the maximum capacity of each project.

Within four months of this decision, the Regulatory Authority for Energy will announce a competitive process for submitting tenders to receive subsidies for the projects planned to be developed at the sites previously allocated by the Minister’s decision.

The participant selected through the competitive bidding process for the specific installation area will have the exclusive right to develop and operate the project within the installation area.

For the selection of the developer and the granting of operational subsidy, the main criterion will be the lowest offered price in EUR/MWh.

Under the new law, the site investigation and identification, as well as concession development, will be led by the state-owned company Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources & Energy Resources Management.

The onshore and offshore grid infrastructure will be the responsibility of the Greek transmission system operator ADMIE.

The Greek Government announced that it was considering a new legislative framework for offshore wind back in 2020 and the country’s wind energy association ELETAEN launched public consultation on a proposal for a legislative framework last year.

The consultation was part of the implementation of the project “Necessary legislative adjustments to promote offshore wind energy in Greece”.

According to WindEurope, the European wind energy industry organisation, it is likely that Greece will mostly see floating offshore wind technology, given the characteristics of its waters.

“The deep waters in Greece mean floating wind could be key for exploiting the offshore wind resource there”, WindEurope said last year. “Costs for bottom-fixed turbines are higher in deeper waters such as in the Mediterranean, but floating wind offers new perspectives”.

So far, there have been several offshore wind plans unveiled in the country.

One of the latest is that announced by German RWE and Hellenic Petroleum Holdings which, through their subsidiaries RWE Renewables and HELPE Renewables, formed a 50:50 partnership to collaborate on the development, construction, and operation of offshore wind farms in Greece.

A month earlier, Belgian offshore wind developer Parkwind partnered with Greece’s Intrakat to jointly develop offshore wind opportunities in Greek waters, saying the two companies would bring forward complementary competences in offshore development and local infrastructure experience.

Earlier this year, Swedish floating wind specialist Hexicon established a joint venture, Hexicon Power SA, with Greece’s EAMAA, described as a first step to start the development of floating offshore wind projects.

In April, Hexicon said that it was set to establish a presence in the area as the new legal framework for offshore wind was expected this year.

The country is also of interest to Ocean Winds, a joint venture between EDP Renewables and ENGIE, which signed a collaboration agreement with the Greek renewable energy company Terna Energy last year to co-develop floating offshore wind projects.

Ocean Winds and Terna Energy said they would identify the most suitable areas and consequently develop a pipeline of projects in excess of 1.5 GW, with a consistent development roadmap rolled out throughout the current decade.

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