Greece was a pioneer in the institutional development of energy communities, passing legislation as early as 2018, even before the relevant European Directive. However, in its early stages, the framework fell victim to exploitation by companies, and today, facing limited grid capacity, it remains at a standstill.
As Nikos Mantzaris, co-founder and lead policy analyst at The Green Tank, told Valia Bazou for topontiki.gr: “Unfortunately, in the early years, various renewable energy companies exploited the framework to accelerate the licensing of their projects, bypass competitive procedures, and ultimately reap substantial profits.”
The occupation of a large portion of grid capacity by these schemes has limited the ability of genuine energy communities to connect to the network, while the lack of funding makes self-generation projects difficult to implement, particularly for citizens and small and medium-sized enterprises. Nikos Mantzaris notes: “Since 2023, there has been only one support program for self-generation projects by energy communities, totaling €41.8 million—and that only for transition regions: the lignite areas of Western Macedonia and the Peloponnese, the Southern and Northern Aegean, and Crete.”
Nikos Mantzaris also highlighted the failure to implement the “Apollon” program and the lost opportunity of €100 million from the Recovery Fund, underscoring the urgent need for meaningful policy support and a redesign of the framework so that energy communities can genuinely contribute to a socially just energy transition.
Read the full article with his statements [in Greek] on topontiki.gr.
