The installed capacity of solar energy systems in Greece more than doubled within just seven months by July, according to the Renewable Energy Sources Center.
The combined electricity output from the installed units reached 29.8 mega-watts in July from just 14 MW in January, thanks to legislative initiatives of the last few years aimed at boosting the market’s development, said Yiannis Vouyiouklakis, head of the center’s development section. He was addressing a conference titled “Photovoltaic Systems in Greece.”
Vouyiouklakis stated that the market’s growth has been helped by an impressive drop in the cost of purchasing solar panels, which has fallen over 35 percent within a year. He also suggested that it is by harnessing solar and wind energy that Greece could meet the national target of getting 20 percent of its energy via renewable energy sources. However, Giorgos Vokas, secretary general of the Association of Photovoltaic Companies, said that despite initially high expectations, bureaucracy has cut the market’s potential growth rate.
(KATHIMERINI, 09/16/2009)