Solar panels: Greece leads the way

Created by DALL·E 3

Our country ranks seventh in the European Union in the exploitation of solar energy, both in absolute numbers and in comparative terms.

Greece, despite its small size compared to other European Union countries, achieves the best performance in the use of solar energy, both in absolute numbers and in comparative terms (photovoltaic energy per capita), according to the annual SolarPower Europe report published last year. week.

Our country is included in the top ten in Europe in terms of development level and forecasts for the development of the photovoltaic market in the next four years. The report notes that photovoltaic energy in EU shows impressive results.

The total PV capacity in the EU today is 263 GW, up 27% from 207 GW in 2022, and annual new installations amount to 55.9 GW (+40% compared to 2022!).

Germany remains in first place with a total installed capacity of 82 GW, followed by Spain with 36 GW and Italy with 29.5 GW. Germany also installed the most new units in 2023 (+14.1 gigawatts, beating Italy’s previous record of 9.3 gigawatts in 2012).

However, although Germany leads both the annual EU market ranking and the EU country ranking, the Netherlands retains first place in terms of installed capacity per inhabitant, reaching 1280 W/capita in 2023, while Germany is approaching the 1 kW limit with 985 W/inhabitant.

Greece’s position in the relative ranking among the 27 is as follows:

• Seventh in installed power per capita – 691 W, up from 531 W in 2022, higher than Austria, Slovenia and Luxembourg.
• Seventh place in the forecast for new installations for 2024-2027. An addition of 6.9-13.9 gigawatts is expected (depending on the scenario considered). As a result, Greece’s share of new European PV capacity is expected to increase from 3% in 2023 to 4% in 2027.
• Greece is expected to reach its 2030 target in 2026. And 12 EU countries (Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Portugal) will achieve the goal starting in 2027.
• According to the report, the average licensing period for small businesses in Greece is 3-4 months, while in other countries it starts from one month and reaches one year. For larger businesses, licensing in Greece takes between three and six years, while the EU average is four years.
• The domestic market is dominated by mid-sized systems ranging from 10 kilowatts to 1 megawatt (71%), while residential photovoltaic installations account for 7% (and trending upward). For the first time last year, installation capacity exceeded 100 megawatts, and this year it is expected to reach even higher levels, doubling annually.
• Solar power in Greece provided 13.6% of electricity in 2022 and is forecast to rise to 18% this year.

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