The auction scheme was found to be in compliance with EU State aid rules as per the Commission, especially with the 2014 Guidelines on State Aid for Environmental Protection and Energy.
According to the EC, the Greek auction scheme will advance the EU energy and climate goals while keeping competition levels intact.
Under its scheme, Greece will carry out regular, competitive auctions to provide support to renewable energy sources while complying with the EU State aid rules.
The EC, in a statement, 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 minimised.”
The Greek government is looking to hold separate auctions this year to support wind and solar projects. In 2019, the country plans to launch joint auctions for wind and solar installations.
Greece is expecting the joint auctions to result in increased competition and reduction in cost for consumers of clean energy.
The Greek government also intends to have other renewable energy technologies included in the auction process in the future once they mature further in the electricity market of the country.
The EC revealed that Greece will assess the bidding processes in 2020, prior to designing bidding processes for the period 2021-2025.
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."
