Greece advances to second place among renewable energy markets

Greece is one of the world’s leading renewable energy markets.

According to the latest edition of EY’s semi-annual survey, Greece has improved its position among the leading renewable energy markets, moving up from third to second place in EY’s adjusted renewable energy index, which assesses a country’s performance adjusted for its gross domestic product.

At the same time, Greece returned to 16th place in the overall index, from 18th place six months earlier.

The index evaluates the world’s 40 largest economies and ranks them in terms of the attractiveness of renewable energy investment opportunities. The GDP-adjusted index provides a more objective picture of reality, reflecting the performance of countries relative to their economic size, because the basic index, by its nature, rewards the world’s strongest economies, which, by their size, also have the largest renewable energy markets.

The report notes that Greece’s installed renewable energy capacity has doubled in the past four years, with green energy now accounting for 50% of electricity production. It also notes that high energy prices and government support are driving the creation of local energy-producing communities.

The report also notes Greece’s improved ranking in the Bilateral Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) index, with the country moving up from 26th to 21st place in the relevant index. It also notes that while the number of relevant agreements in Greece remains relatively small, the burgeoning corporate PPA market is showing signs of growth. As in many other markets, large industrial and IT conglomerates dominate the list of buyers, but the report notes that, interestingly, PPAs have also been signed by wider public sector organisations.

Clean energy investment worldwide, despite a $1.8 trillion increase last year, including $660 billion in renewables, still falls short of COP28 targets, according to the study. Grid congestion and high capital costs are also hampering progress at a time when the pace of investment needs to accelerate.