Greece: Hellenic Petroleum opens 204 MW solar park

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis inaugurated the facility that aims to speed up the country’s installed renewable energy capacity.

Hellenic Petroleum celebrated the opening of its 204-megawatt solar park alongside the Greek government last week. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the country’s Prime Minister, inaugurated the site built to decrease the nation’s dependability on imported fuels.

According to a report by the international news agency Reuters, the park is located in the northern city of Kozani and will work in part to accelerate the end of dependence on imported gas from Russia. The facility will supply power to 75,000 households and connect to the country's power grid in coming weeks.

"This project reflects our national goals for cheap and clean energy from the sun, from the wind, from the water," said Mitsotakis at the inauguration ceremony. In line with the opening, the Prime Minister promised to speed up permits and licencing procedures for renewable energy projects in the near future.

The new project is part of Greece’s plans to double its installed capacity for renewables to about 19 gigawatts by 2030. Currently, the country’s renewables represent 21.7% of its energy consumption, beating its 2020 goal according to the European Union statistics office. The nation expects to increase this figure up to 35% by 2030.