Greece Picks 4.7 GW of Merchant Battery Storage Projects

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes · Last updated: 14 November 2026

Greece's Ministry of Environment and Energy has published its list of merchant battery storage projects, clearing 4,700 MW for grid connection terms on 13 November 2026. Merchant means these batteries get no state support and must earn their income from the electricity market alone. The ministry chose them from 831 applications seeking 12,319 MW, so roughly 38 percent of the capacity requested will move forward. This Greece battery storage list follows 900 MW of earlier projects backed through government auctions, the first of which began operating earlier in 2026. State utility Public Power Corporation took the biggest named share, 470 MW across five sites. The government wants 5 GW to 7 GW of storage running by 2028.

How 831 Bids Shrank to 4.7 GW of Connection Terms

The ministry's call drew 831 applications asking for 12,319 MW in total. Nearly all of that capacity sat on the high-voltage side. Some 221 projects, worth 10,521 MW, applied to connect to the transmission network. A far larger crowd of 610 projects asked for distribution-level connections, but together they sought only 1,798 MW.

The averages show how different the two pools are. A typical transmission bid came in at roughly 48 MW, while the average distribution bid was under 3 MW. One queue is for utility-scale plants; the other is for small local installations.

Evaluation produced a longer shortlist than the final allocation. On the transmission side, 6,366 MW was ranked either as a frontrunner or as a substitute, a reserve project held back in case a leading one falls away. Another 1,403 MW was ranked the same way for distribution. Of that combined pool of about 7,769 MW, 4,700 MW will actually receive connection terms.

Which Developers Won Capacity on the Transmission Grid

Public Power Corporation, the state-controlled utility known as PPC, led the named winners with five projects totalling 470 MW. Four of the five sit in coal regions, among them the Florina area in the north. Placing batteries there lets PPC reuse grid capacity in areas that are losing their lignite plants.

HELLENiQ Renewables, the clean energy arm of refiner HELLENiQ Energy, won 50 MW. Several established renewables developers also made the list, all with transmission connections: Rokas with 220 MW, Aenaos with 198 MW, Terna Energy, now owned by Masdar, with 197.5 MW, ABO with 95 MW and Lightsource with 80 MW.

Those seven companies account for about 1,310.5 MW, or roughly 28 percent of the 4,700 MW allocated. The rest is spread widely. Hundreds of smaller companies hold places in the queue for the Hellenic Distribution Network Operator, known as HEDNO or DEDDIE, which runs the lower-voltage grid.

Why Greece Is Betting on Batteries Without Subsidies

Greece built its first storage tranche with state help. Some 900 MW of operating power won government support through auctions, and the first of those systems started running earlier in 2026. The new 4,700 MW works differently, earning money only by buying power cheaply and selling it when prices rise.

If every project is built, the two tranches add up to about 5.6 GW. That would land inside the government's goal of 5 GW to 7 GW of operating storage by 2028, though nearer the bottom of the range than the top.

The government's case rests on curtailment. Curtailment is when renewable plants are ordered to cut output because the grid cannot absorb all the electricity being produced. Batteries soak up that surplus. The government says this will lift daytime wholesale prices, helping solar producers that are struggling, while also lowering overall energy costs for consumers. Both outcomes are the government's expectations, and higher daytime prices sit awkwardly beside cheaper bills. The balance between them has not yet been tested in the Greek market.

What Still Stands Between the List and Operating Batteries

Selection is not construction. The next step falls to Greece's two network operators, which must now issue connection terms to the chosen projects. That will happen in phases, ordered by the connection priority set for each project category. No timetable for those phases has been published.

The merchant model adds a second hurdle. Without auction support, each developer has to finance its project on expected trading revenue alone. A project that wins terms but fails to raise money could drop out, which is why the substitute list matters.

The 2028 target leaves little more than two years to connect, build and commission thousands of megawatts. How quickly the operators process connection terms will decide whether that goal holds.

Will Greece Reach 5 GW to 7 GW by 2028?

The bottom line

Greece has moved its storage build-out into a harder phase. The first 900 MW came with auction support. The next 4,700 MW must pay its own way, and the response suggests developers are willing to try: requests outran the final allocation by more than two to one. PPC, Rokas, Aenaos, Terna Energy and others have their places, alongside hundreds of small distribution projects. Paper capacity is not yet steel on the ground. The real test lies with the network operators' phased connection terms and with lenders' appetite for unsubsidised trading revenue. If both cooperate, Greece could reach about 5.6 GW, within the 5 GW to 7 GW range it has set for 2028.

What to watch

• Watch for Greece's two network operators to begin issuing connection terms in phases by project category; no date has been set for the first phase.
• Watch whether operating storage reaches the government's goal of 5 GW to 7 GW by the end of 2028.
• Watch how many selected projects drop out and are replaced by substitutes as developers try to finance plants without state support; no deadline for that has been announced.