Future Projections of Photovoltaic Power Generation Potential Change in Greece Based on High-Resolution EURO-CORDEX RCM Simulations

Here, we assess the projected changes in photovoltaic power generation potential (PVpot) in Greece for the 21st century. Our analysis is based on an ensemble of high-resolution Regional Climate Model (RCM) simulations from the EURO-CORDEX initiative following three different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), namely, RCP2.6 (strong mitigation), RCP4.5 (moderate mitigation), and RCP8.5 (no further mitigation). The spatial patterns of the PVpot changes in the near future (2021–2050) and at the end of the century (2071–2100) relative to the 1971–2000 baseline period are presented along with the corresponding statistical robustness. In addition, we analyze time series of the projected PVpot changes. Finally, we isolate the effects of specific climatic variables on the projected PVpot changes and discuss the importance of PV energy production in Greece.