During the past year, the new government has reduced the red tape required to provide licenses for production of electricity using renewable energy sources, thus attracting considerable interest from foreign companies, Deputy Development Minister Giorgos Salagoudis said yesterday.
Specifically, 24.7 percent of production licenses awarded since 1994 have been approved over the past 12 months. Most of these concern wind energy installations, the deputy minister said. Among the foreign companies that are implementing investments in renewable energy sources are Spain’s Iberdrola and CESA Eolica Corp and France’s EDF New Energies.
Salagoudis also referred to a report by consultants Ernst & Young that put Greece in sixth place among the most attractive places for investment in wind energy as proof of improvement in Greece’s image among potential foreign investors. This improvement has also contributed to Greece being designated as the host for the next European Wind Energy Congress, in 2006.
The government is also promoting the use of other renewable sources, such as solar and geothermal energy.