How "rural" photovoltaics will work - 300-500 megawatts will be built to cover the PPAs of cooperatives and Producer Groups - Subsidy for adding battery
The Ministry of Environment estimates that the portfolio of photovoltaic systems that will need to be built will move to 300-500 megawatts, so that by concluding "green" PPAs, farmers participating in cooperative schemes (cooperatives, organizations, producer groups, etc.) and those practicing contract farming will be guaranteed a 10-year electricity price at least 30% lower than current levels.
These photovoltaics will be combined with a battery so that part of their production can cover the beneficiaries' consumption during the night (e.g. watering). For the storage units, as sources in the ministry point out, there will be a fairly large subsidy from the state.
According to the same sources, the percentage of aid will be determined by a study to be carried out in order to calculate the total power of the storage units which will be necessary so that the production of photovoltaic can "cut" the price of electricity by at least 30%. A first picture "shows" that batteries with a total capacity of about 1/3 of that of the solar park portfolio will have to be added.
In order to "run" the 10-year bilateral contracts, beneficiary farmers will contract with an electricity supplier - either PPC (which already represents most of the agricultural supplies) or another provider. In this way, they will ensure their electricity supply at a competitive and stable cost for 10 years.
At the same time, the providers will proceed to conclude "green" PPAs with the photovoltaic portfolio in order to ensure the renewable electricity generation capacity with which they will cover the beneficiaries' electricity needs. It is possible that in order to conclude the PPAs, they will publish a call for applications to which interested renewable energy producers will respond.
In order to "activate" the measure, the Commission's approval will be required, as it provides for state aid. Also, among the outstanding issues that remain to be clarified by the ministry is to introduce a safeguard to ensure that renewable energy producers will service the PPAs for the entire 10 years.
According to ministry officials, based on farmers participating in cooperative schemes, the solution of "green" PPAs will reduce energy costs for at least 30% of farmers. At the same time, the measure will provide an incentive for greater proliferation of cooperative schemes, following the tax cuts already in place.
Small self-production photovoltaics for individual
Based on the specification of measures to reduce the cost of electricity for farmers, made by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Theo Skylakakis and the Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, Alexandra Sdoukou, for individual farmers will start immediately the "Photovoltaics in the field", a new self-production program (exclusively for farmers) of 30 million euros.
In practice, this is the autonomy - in a new action - of the aid for rural photovoltaics (with or without battery) provided for in the "Photovoltaics on Roofs". In the new programme, the maximum production capacity of eligible systems is increased - from 10 kilowatts to 50 kilowatts. The small power "ceiling" was one of the reasons why the "Photovoltaics on Roofs" scheme has not received a significant response from farmers to date.
Also, the Ministry of Environment is in the next few days to finalize the amount of subsidies in the "Photovoltaics in the Field" - which can be modified given that larger systems are now eligible. It is recalled that for farmers in the "Photovoltaics on Roofs" the subsidy was 40% for photovoltaics and 90% for batteries.
In order to strengthen self-production, the "locked" electrical space, available on a priority basis to farmers per DEDDIE substation (6 Megawatts x 225 substations in the country = 1350 Megawatts), is increased immediately (from 3 to 6 Megawatts).
