Small Greek renewable energy investors face project cancellations at distribution level

The electricity distribution network operator Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network (HEDNO) has stopped accepting applications for construction permits for renewable energy power plants in 2022 due to the inability of the distribution network to handle new installations.

Recently, a new obstacle has emerged for small investors who want to connect to the distribution network. Last month, HEDNO began canceling applications from 2019 because the five-year deadlines had expired.

This is expected to affect thousands of projects currently in the pipeline and create a licensing gap as more applications are cancelled each month. Small investors are asking the government for an extension to be able to implement their plans.

They claim they have already paid large sums, ranging from €20,000 to €40,000 per project, under the letter of intent procedure and other regulatory requirements, and have taken significant risks.

539 million euros for substation modernization

HEDNO recently published its new five-year development plan for public consultation. According to the latest data, 7.5 GW of operational renewable power plants were connected to the national distribution grid at the beginning of 2024. The majority (around 6 GW) are in the medium voltage segment, with the rest in the low voltage segment.

The vast majority of capacity comes from photovoltaic power plants (5.95 GW), wind power plants reached 1.08 GW, and small hydropower plants 252 MW.

Manos: National goals cannot be achieved without investment in the network

HEDNO plans to allocate EUR 539 million for new user connections by 2028. More specifically, the company plans to upgrade 14 substations using funding from the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF) and 18 others from its own funds, as well as support the installation of two private substations.

In addition, it is planned to upgrade substations in high-traffic areas from 7.2 kA to 10 kA once the relevant studies have been completed.

As HEDNO CEO Anastasios Manos warned in April, national targets for renewable energy production and electromobility will not be achieved without investments in energy networks.

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