Solar energy producers have called for a halt to new renewable projects, as battery storage lags behind a growing oversupply.
Greece spends billions importing oil and gas every year – so becoming an energy exporter once felt like a distant dream. Green energy is changing that.
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Today, about 45 per cent of its electricity comes from renewables – and roughly 20 per cent of what it produces is exported, primarily to Italy and, to a lesser extent, neighbouring Balkan countries.
But momentum has hit a ceiling. Renewable capacity now far outstrips domestic demand. Greece is curtailing significant amounts of green power simply because there aren't enough buyers.
Exports aren't picking up the slack either, as neighbouring countries are producing their own cheap green energy.
Speaking at the Energy Transition Summit in Athens on 13–14 May, one industry insider was blunt about what that means for Greece's renewable rollout.
"We should stop further expansion. We already have too much," said Stelios Loumakis, president of the Association of Photovoltaic Energy Producers. "In 2026, producers' income will be about 40 per cent lower than last year, due to demand constraints and near-zero wholesale prices. Renewable energy offers stability and low prices for consumers – but there are limits, and it is not for us to go beyond what the technology can offer."
Why cheap energy generation doesn't mean lower bills
The problem isn't unique to Greece. Across Europe, the wholesale price of renewable electricity is falling steadily – but household bills aren't following suit, and many producers are facing questions about long-term viability.
The disconnect comes down to how electricity markets are structured. As Maja Turković, executive vice president at renewable energy developer CWP Europe_,_ explained at the summit, prices across most European markets are set by the last and most expensive unit needed to meet demand – known as marginal pricing. That unit is frequently a gas plant. With natural gas remaining expensive – and prices spiking further after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz – that dynamic is keeping consumer bills high even as green energy gets cheaper to produce.
Brussels is taking note. The European Commission is now examining four pressure points on energy bills: the wholesale cost of electricity; network and infrastructure charges; taxes and levies; and regulated charges such as capacity mechanisms and balancing costs.
"The green transition is not without its problems," said Cristina Lobillo, Director for Energy Security and International Relations at the Commission's DG ENER. "The European Council has given us a mandate to work on these four elements – and we are doing so. The main issue is affordability, particularly in more vulnerable regions such as southeast Europe."
Batteries are coming
One solution gaining traction is storage. If surplus solar and wind power can be held and released when generation dips, the curtailment problem eases and consumers get access to cheaper electricity around the clock.
Greece expects battery storage units with a combined capacity of around 900 MW to be operational by the first quarter of 2027. Costs have fallen sharply in recent years, helping unlock a pipeline of new projects – though market players caution that the technology is still maturing.
"The accelerated rollout of storage will increase the availability of cheap renewable energy in the grid and, ultimately, reduce costs for the end consumer," said Alexandros Flamos, professor and head of the Energy Systems Technoeconomics Laboratory at the University of Piraeus.
Greek PM says prices will keep falling
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis used his appearance at the summit to point to progress already made. Greece had the highest wholesale electricity prices in the EU in 2019, he noted; it now sits below the European average, and has cut CO2 emissions by nearly 50 per cent compared to 2005 levels.
"Prices will continue to fall as we add more renewables to the energy mix and – hopefully – as gas becomes cheaper," Mitsotakis said, while leaving open the possibility of further support measures to help households with the cost of living.
