Market reactions to the stop on RES in mountains and islands

Summary

Inaccessible mountains, a “barrier” for wind turbines above 1,200 meters, islands without wind turbines, a blanket ban in Attica and the Thessaloniki Metropolitan Area, and other exclusion zones are introduced by the new Spatial Plan for Renewable Energy Sources, which is already sparking reactions in the market.

This is the essence of the new framework released yesterday for public consultation by the Ministry of Environment and Energy, which—perhaps not coincidentally—is being introduced in an election year and after 18 years of inaction —the previous one dates back to 2008—a stricter regime than the current one with blanket bans and minimal exceptions, the brunt of which falls on wind power.

In essence, the government is attempting to strike a balance between local opposition and the imposition of restrictions on the unchecked expansion of renewable energy sources on the one hand—obviously with the political cost in mind—and the continuation of investments in wind and solar power on the other, without undermining them, as the market fears.

In this difficult exercise, the new Spatial Plan has the disadvantage of arriving too late to impose rules and restrictions on a situation that has already taken shape in the country. The “mountains” of active photovoltaic projects—those with final grid connection offers and environmental permits—currently total around 62 GW, a figure that reaches 15 GW for wind projects . The new Spatial Plan does not affect this 78 GW capacity, since the restrictions apply to new projects and those that are still far from final approval.

This is also the ministry’s argument against those in the renewable energy sector who are objecting, based on the logic that “the country has licensed more projects than it needs,” since the 2050 target under the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP—a ten-year energy policy plan) calls for 35 GW of solar and 13 GW of wind power.

“The horizontal restrictions are excessive and stricter than we expected,” is the market’s counterargument, which cites as an example the low altitude limit of 1,200 meters—which excludes a large portion of the country’s strong wind potential—and points to a failure in the case of the islands “where, in practice, their rich wind potential is being wasted, as well as that of the islets and rocky outcrops.”

What is changing now

The “restrictions” on wind power

To summarize the most fundamental changes in the new Spatial Plan, they concern:

• A "ban" on the installation of wind turbines at altitudes of 1,200 meters and above, with no exceptions for any of the country’s regions with good wind potential. Hundreds of peaks over 1,200 meters, mainly in the Pindus Mountains, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, and Crete, are now off-limits for wind farms. From Mount Olympus, Smolikas, Taygetos, and Parnassus, to the White Mountains, Psiloritis, Chelmos, Mainalo, and Dirfi, dozens of Greek mountains now fall into this new category.
• Wind turbines are now prohibited in Attica and the Thessaloniki metropolitan area.
• A ban on the installation of wind turbines on islands smaller than 300 square kilometers, unless they meet local needs (e.g., for desalination). This means that wind turbines will now be permitted on only 15 islands nationwide: Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes, Chios, Kefalonia, Corfu, Lemnos, Samos, Naxos, Zakynthos, Thasos, Andros, Lefkada, and Karpathos.
• The same applies to areas outside the urban plan, where tourism and recreational uses are planned.

Which wind farms are exempt

In the so-called Special Protection Areas (SPAs—bird protection areas within Natura), which concern the protection of birdlife and are part of the Natura network, wind turbines are permitted only if two conditions are cumulatively met: first, they must be permitted by the relevant Special Environmental Study (prepared by external consultants of the Ministry of Environment and Energy), and second, the wind speed must exceed 7.5 meters per second.

Sources within the ministry claim that wind turbines are permitted in one-third of these studies; however, the market holds a completely opposite view. “If there is even a single exception to this rule, I would ask the Ministry of Environment and Energy to show it to us,” says a company executive.

If, on the other hand, the average wind speed in a municipal district is below 4 meters per second, then the entire municipal district will be considered an exclusion zone. This means that if, for example, the wind speed at certain points is 7 or 8 meters per second and the elevation is below 1,200 meters, the installation of a wind farm is again prohibited.

Maximum land coverage limits for photovoltaic systems

For photovoltaic systems, a new maximum land coverage limit is being established, as projects without environmental permits may not exceed 1.5% of the total area per Regional Unit. The goal is to prevent the overconcentration of projects, preserve productive land, and ensure a more equitable geographical distribution of investments.

At the same time, blanket bans on development are being established in all Natura 2000 sites, in forests and forested areas, Ramsar wetlands (internationally protected wetlands), national parks, protected landscapes, terraced areas, roadless areas, and swimming beaches.

The Ministry of Environment and Energy’s Argument

In their argument, sources at the Ministry of Environment and Energy maintain that even after the strict restrictions of the new Spatial Plan, there remains a vast pool of projects that “remain untouched.”

This is demonstrated by the RES figures themselves. Currently, approximately 18 GW of projects (mainly photovoltaic) are in operation, another 15 GW have received final grid connection offers, and approximately 45 GW have met environmental conditions. This total of 78 GW—much of which will obviously never become projects—is not affected by the new Spatial Plan, ministry sources explain.

Of these, photovoltaics (active, with a final connection offer or environmental conditions) account for 62 GW, and wind power for 15 GW. Those affected by the new Spatial Plan, the same sources continue, are those with a producer certificate, i.e., around 37 GW.

The market’s response

In response to the government’s arguments, wind energy market circles counter that the above figures are merely intended to create a certain impression, since the overwhelming majority of them pertain to photovoltaics, which are indeed numerous, installed, and licensed.

In the case of wind power, they characterize the cited figure (15 GW) as incorrect, explaining that if there were so many licensed wind farms, there would have been significantly greater participation in the recent tender by RAEW (Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy, and Water) to include 400 MW of wind power under the operational support scheme. However, participation did not exceed 380 MW.

Among the most problematic aspects of the Spatial Plan, aside from the 1,200-meter altitude limit—which is lower than the market had anticipated—industry executives point to the fact that areas with high wind potential within SPA (Special Protection Areas for Birds).

The renewable energy sector also describes the exclusion of islands as blind and unfair . If the criterion of tourism development is added, the 15 islands where wind turbines are now permitted are reduced to 11.

In summary, what the market will demand in light of the upcoming public consultation is that the blanket exclusion not apply in areas with high wind potential. Instead, the authorities should evaluate each project individually and decide whether to grant environmental approval, weighing its abundant energy potential against the project’s estimated impacts.

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