main
drivers
of
the
economy
in
the
coming
years
will
continue
to
be
private
consumption,
investments,
and
exports,
while
the
net
contribution
of
the
external
sector
will
be
marginally
negative.
The
monetary
policy
is
expected
to
continue
to
have
a
contractionary
effect
on
economic
activity,
while
investments
will
contribute
positively to growth thanks to the resources of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism.
Trends in the Energy Market in Greece during the year 2023
From
the
beginning
of
the
year
and
the
partial
easing
of
geopolitical
pressures,
the
energy
market
has
entered
a
phase
of
normalization,
with
many
parameters
remaining
volatile,
however,
affecting
visibility
in
the
medium
term.
This
combined
with
lower
demand,
as
a
result
of
high
prices,
but
also
milder
temperatures
prevailing
during
the
winter
period,
led
to
a
continued
deceleration
in
energy
prices
observed
during
the
end
of
2022
and
a
further
decline
during
2023.
Indicatively,
gas
prices
(TTF)
fell
from
2022
levels
(average
133.7
EUR/MWh)
to
44.3
EUR/MWh
for
2023.
In
a
similar
pattern,
the
electricity
price
on
the
wholesale
market
showed
an
average
price of 132.2 EUR/MWh for the year compared to 306.6 EUR/MWh for 2022.
Electricity
demand
in
2023
recorded
a
2.3%
year-on-year
decline,
influenced
mainly
by
the
unseasonably
high
temperatures
that
prevailed
in
the
first
months
of
the
year
(and
compared
to
particularly
low
temperatures
for
the
corresponding
months
of
2022)
and
by
the
measures
to
limit
consumption
by
households
and
businesses.
It
is notable that in the second half of the year demand increased by 4.0%.
The
reduced
demand,
combined
with
increased
production
from
RES,
led
to
a
drop
in
production
from
thermal
stations
in
the
interconnected
system
(19.2%
decrease
in
lignite
production,
18.5%
decrease
in
gas
production),
while
hydroelectric
production,
marginally
increased
by
1.1%.
Renewable
Energy
production
increased
by
8.8%
in
line
with
the
increase
in
installed
capacity,
while
net
imports
also
increased,
covering
9.9%
of
total
demand
(compared
to
6.8%
for
2022).
Overall,
renewables
covered
43.2%
of
demand
(historical
high)
compared
to
38.8%
for
the
same
period
in
2022.
It
is
worth
noting
that
including
generation
from
large
hydropower
plants,
total
green energy production in the country met 51.3% of demand in 2023 (vs. 46.7% for 2022).
In
the
renewable
energy
sector
and
more
especially
in
wind
power,
the
installed
capacity
of
the
market
at
the
end
of
2023
amounted
to
5,226
MW
showing
an
increase
of
542.8
MW
(+11.6%)
compared
to
the
end
of
2022.
The
acceleration
of
growth
is
attributed
to
the
gradual
completion
of
large
wind
investments
such
as
the
Kafirea
wind
farm
(327MW)
by
TERNA
Energy.
In
terms
of
market
shares,
according
to
ELETAEN
data,
for
2023
in
Greece,
TERNA
Energy
held
19.7%
of
installed
wind
capacity,
with
the
second
and
third
producers
holding
14.6%
and
7.8% respectively.
According
to
the
same
source,
at
the
end
of
2023,
over
850
MW
of
new
wind
farms
were
under
construction
or
contracted
in
the
Greek
territory,
of
which
over
300
MW
are
expected
to
be
connected
to
the
grid
within
the
next
12
months.
To
these
are
added
a
further
400
MW
that
have
been
selected
in
tenders
or
have
submitted
performance
guarantees
but
do
not
belong
to
any
of
the
above
categories.
Thus,
total
wind
capacity
is
expected
to approach 6.5 GW within the next three years.
Regarding
photovoltaics,
according
to
the
latest
data
for
the
whole
country
(HELAPCO-FEB
2024),
2023
was
a
record
year
with
1,574
MW
of
new
photovoltaics
added
to
the
system
compared
to
the
end
of
2022
(compared
to
1,397
MW
added
for
2022),
bringing
the
interconnected
capacity
to
around
7,087
MW
at
the
end
of
2023.
It
is
worth
noting,
however,
that
only
40.2%
of
new
installations
involved
projects
above
1.0
MW.
According
to
market estimates, a similar number of new PV plants are expected to be interconnected in 2023 through 2024.