Greece saw a record increase in its solar power capacity last year, helping establish the country among the Top 10 European Union members tapping the sun to meet their energy needs.

According to a new report by industry association Solar Power Europe, Greece’s total installed capacity last year grew by 20% with 1.6 Gigawatt of installed capacity added. By the end of the decade total installed capacity could more than triple to 29.6 GW, the report added, faster than projected under the Greek government’s national energy strategy.

“The Greek solar photovoltaic (PV) market has gained tremendous momentum, which is expected to continue for the next few years,” the report notes. “In 2022, 1.4 GW of new PV projects were connected to the grid, bringing the cumulative capacity to 5.5 GW. This was the best performance ever for the Greek solar sector. Still, it looks modest if compared with the expected performance of the market in 2023, which should bring online around 1.6-1.7 GW of solar capacity.”

Under Greece’s revised National Energy & Climate Plan (NECP) from last year, the government foresees 13.4 GW installed PV capacity by 2030. That is almost double the 7.7 GW target that was embodied in the previous NECP.

But the new target may understate the pace of investment. Under SolarPower Europe’s Medium Scenario projection to 2030, its sees Greece reaching 29.6 GW of solar capacity by the end of the decade.

“Though much smaller, the solar market of Greece continues its positive move, marked by significant growth mostly in the industrial and the utility-scale segments,” the report said. “Solar is likely to dominate most of the renewable auctions until 2025 and new support schemes are expected in early 2024 to support residential PV and storage. As a result, Greece is anticipated to add 10.9 GW between 2024 and 2027.”