A renewable energy or energy technology project in Greece rarely turns on a single legal question. The greatest difficulties often appear at the joins between different requirements: when the permitting has not been planned around the land rights, when a power purchase agreement does not take the grid connection terms into account, or when a technology supply contract does not reflect how the project will actually be delivered. Solar and wind development, battery energy storage, EV charging infrastructure and smart grids each create different permitting, contractual and technical requirements. A proper legal assessment therefore has to start from the project itself: its location, the technology used, the grid connection and the way it is to be developed and operated.
Our experience in the energy sector comes directly from the eleven years a partner of the firm spent as General Counsel of a Fortune 50 technology group. In that role he also had responsibility for the group's energy technology division, covering solar and smart systems, battery energy storage systems (ESS), EV charging infrastructure and smart grid technology. That means we have seen the commercial and technological side of energy projects from the inside — from negotiating complex supply and technology contracts through to managing the relationships between suppliers, customers and other business partners.
We have handled energy technology contracts from the supplier's side and know what they have to provide for in practice — from the allocation of liability and the delivery terms through to warranties, performance and project support.
For renewable energy developers, we look at the sequence of permitting steps, the land rights, the grid connection and the contracts required to develop and operate the project. For energy technology suppliers and international companies entering the Greek market, we focus on the structure of the contracts, the allocation of liability, the installation and maintenance of the equipment and the local compliance requirements. In that way we bring together the energy and regulatory framework with the commercial and technological side of the project.
Permitting first
The permitting route sets the project timetable
Permitting by the Greek regulator (RAAEY), land rights and grid connection requirements have to be examined and organised in the right order from the start. One wrong step can delay or halt the development, however well the later contracts are drafted.
PPAs on real assumptions
A power purchase agreement is only as good as its grid and pricing assumptions
Power purchase agreements have to take account of the actual grid connection terms, the risk of curtailment and the way pricing is set. They cannot be treated as a generic commercial template detached from the characteristics of the project.
Each technology has its own requirements
Storage, charging and smart grids raise different legal issues
Battery energy storage, EV charging infrastructure and smart grids have different requirements for permitting, procurement, connection and operation. The legal structure has to match the technology and the way it fits into the project.
Cross-border supply
Entering the Greek market takes proper preparation
International energy technology suppliers need contracts and compliance procedures adapted to the requirements of the Greek market before supply or installation of the equipment begins.