By Maria Kagkelidou
On December 6, an unlikely yet formidable alliance presented its manifesto for the promotion of renewable energy sources in Greece. They aim to kick-start the use of renewable energy sources as Greece has to fill 20 percent of its energy needs using renewables by 2010.
The alliance consists of three umbrella groups representing the country's local authorities, renewable energy producers and the country's environmental organisations, and is even joined by the state's advisor on renewable energy. Only the government is not represented.
The alliance has set itself an ambitious target. Renewables must displace a third of total greenhouse gas emissions for Greece's Kyoto Protocol targets to be met. That means, use of renewables must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 6.5 million tonnes a year by 2010.
"Our aim is to overcome whatever difficulties and promote our common positions regarding the licensing problem, infrastructure, land-planning and informing and achieving the co-operation of local authorities and public opinion," said Petros Vasileiou, general manager of the Central Association of Greece's Municipalities and Communities (KEDKE), one of the four organisations in the alliance.
"If the plan to develop renewables within the coming 5-6 years fails, Greece will have to pay each year - whether in fines to the Kyoto fund or to buy emission rights in the international trading system - over 90 million euros from 2010," says Dr Nikos Vasilakos, Vice-President for the European Association of Renewable Energy Sources Producers and president of its Greek counterpart.
"If you think this is too far into the future, the Public Power Corporation (PPC) predicts that by the end of the year it will have to spend over 70 million euros to buy emission rights. So, renewables are not an issue for fanatics or environmentalists, but a financial issue," he said.
Vasilakos said that investments totalling 1.5 billion euros - a third of which have already obtained a license - are currently in limbo.
Queuing up
Even though renewables have a pivotal role in the EU's efforts to combat climate change and reduce economic dependency on oil, the sector's development hinges on a number of basic obstacles. Greece does not have a land-use plan designating areas where renewable energy production facilities can or cannot be installed. Work on such a plan is already underway but local authorities and individuals throughout the country have launched tens of objections with the courts blocking these investments, citing environmental reasons.
Vasileiou said that in order to overcome these objections, the state will have to come up with strong incentives for the residents of local authorities that will host renewable energy production. At the moment, renewable energy producers have to hand over 2 percent of their turnover before profits to local authorities. But according to Vasileiou, as local authorities in Greece now cover large areas, the incentives will have to be focused on inhabitants of the areas closest to the installation.
Vasilakos explained that for renewable energy production to grow "it is imperative that the licensing framework is rationalised and simplified." He added that at the moment in order to obtain a licence for renewable energy production, investors need the agreement of 41 agencies, and that renewable energy projects are treated the same way as an application for the construction of a chemical plant. As a result, the licensing takes on average three to four years.
But problems persist even after licensing. An adequate distribution network must exist for the energy to reach consumers. Vasilakos pointed out that the existing network has run out of capacity, and even though the relevant studies were commissioned by the PPC as early as 1999, work on extending the capacity has yet to begin. As a result, he said, Greece now risks losing 60 million euros that the EU has earmarked for the development of network capacity between 2000-2006.
A bill for the development of renewables that all interested parties - environmentalists, the public and the private sector - have endorsed in its entirety has yet to be presented before parliament. "The bill has been stagnating for over a year. Its presentation to parliament is being postponed continually from the first parliamentary summer session to the second, then to September, then to November and now to the end of January. We hope that it will finally be presented before parliament and that it will become law because it is an important bill that will address many of the problems regarding renewable energy sources. We also hope that all its clauses will survive the consultation that is currently taking place at government level," said Vasilakos.
(Athens News, 9/12/05)