Following the news that Greece held its second joint renewable auction for solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind power projects amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, awarding 502.9 megawatt (MW) of renewable capacity to five participants;

Somik Das, Power Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“The strong participation and the success of the auctions itself suggest that Greece’s renewable sector is facing the brunt of the pandemic well. Big players such as EMV, Heliotherma Energy and Greece based Panagakos Group participated and won in the auctions. The Panagakos Group decided to bid for a cluster of nine solar PV projects.

“Although the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic had been a concern for the Greek energy sector, the performance of the auctions and the record-breaking tariffs that were registered, suggest that Greece is in control of the pandemic situation.

“The country introduced strict measures related to the quarantine of employees. As this was implemented early on, it allowed officials to control the spread of the virus. Greece has only suffered minimum casualties thus far, compared to other nations.

“Energy companies have offered significant help during the pandemic. For instance, Public Power Corporation (PPC) has offered €5m to purchase medical equipment, while Hellenic Petroleum has donated around €8m to the Greek Government to support the country’s pandemic response. Alternatively, the Greek Government has proposed to offer COVID-19 crisis management lessons to much wealthier and institutionally stronger states. Such strong actions make the nation well poised to exit the current crisis with minimal losses.”