Greece’s Ministry of Environment and Energy (YPEM) has elevated energy storage development to a top national priority—positioning it as the next strategic pillar of the country’s energy transition. The goal is to bolster grid resilience and help stabilise electricity prices.
Accelerating Deployment
At the start of the year, Greece had zero operational energy storage capacity. Today, that figure stands at 630 megawatts (MW). According to the government’s roadmap, battery capacity is expected to reach 1 gigawatt (GW) by end-2024, 1.5 GW by mid-2027, and 3 GW by 2028.
An Aurora Energy report on Greece’s energy storage sector through 2030 forecasts that by year-end, around 900 MW of battery systems will be operational—including 711 MW with two-hour discharge duration and 189 MW with four-hour capability. Additional projects are already in the pipeline:
- 333 MW under the ‘Storage Systems for Businesses’ programme;
- 4.7 GW entering the market directly—without subsidy schemes—of which 0.9 GW will connect to the distribution network (DEDDHE) and 3.8 GW to the transmission system (ADMIE);
- 900 MW enabled by Law 5151/2024, which allows conversion of decommissioned conventional power plant permits into energy storage licences.
Together, these initiatives are projected to deliver a total of 6.8 GW of storage capacity over the next four years.
Price Stabilisation Role
Battery systems help moderate electricity generation costs by storing low-cost—or even zero- or negative-priced—energy during periods of oversupply. This commonly occurs when renewable generation exceeds immediate demand or export capacity. Stored energy can then be dispatched when demand peaks and conventional generation (notably more expensive natural gas plants) would otherwise be needed to fill the gap.
Falling Costs, Rising Impact
The economics of battery technology are rapidly improving. Deputy Energy Minister Nikos Tsafos cited data showing battery costs have plummeted from $1,474 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2010 to $159 in 2021—and are projected to fall further to $108 by 2025. That represents a 32% drop since 2021 and a cumulative 93% decline since 2010.
This cost reduction, combined with expanding renewable generation and growing storage deployment, has contributed to relative price stability in both wholesale and retail electricity markets. During the first half of July, the average wholesale price stood at €111.67 per megawatt-hour—despite global energy market volatility and natural gas prices exceeding €50/MWh. While up from €92.93 in June, this remains lower than the average across Central European countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania—and ranks as the sixth-lowest in the broader European electricity system.