The European Commission (EC) has approved the Greek government’s auction scheme for renewables and high-efficiency cogeneration.
The commission deemed that the action scheme is in line with the EU state aid rules, in particular the 2014 Guidelines on State Aid for Environmental Protection and Energy.
Greece plans to launch separate auctions to support wind and solar projects in 2018, followed by joint auctions for both wind and solar installations next year.
The joint auctions are expected to help increase competition and reduce the cost for consumers of renewable energy.
The country plans to include other renewable energy technologies in the auction process at a later date when they become more mature in the country’s electricity market.
European Commissioner for competition policy Margrethe Vestager said: "Greece will bring down costs for renewable energy with competitive auctions to support renewable electricity generation.
“This is very good and the scheme will facilitate Greece's efforts to reach its 2020 climate goals."
Greece plans to assess the bidding process in 2020 for 2021-2025, the EC noted.
The EC said: “On this basis, the Commission concluded that the Greek auctioning scheme will boost the share of electricity produced from renewable energy sources, in line with EU environmental objectives, while any distortion of competition caused by the state support is minimized.”
In November 2016, the commission approved a support scheme for the production of electricity from renewable energy sources and high efficiency cogeneration in Greece.
By 2020, the country aims produce 18% of domestic energy supplies from renewable sources.