As of 2005, 6.9% of Greece’s energy - 10% of its electricity - came
from renewables. This 10% broke down into 8% hydro and 2% wind power. By the end
of 2009, Greece had installed a cumulative total of 1,087 MW. Wind currently
provides around 4% of Greece’s electricity. Greece has to reach 18% of its
energy from renewables (40% of its electricity) by 2020 according to the 2009 EU
Renewable Energy Directive. In its National Renewable Energy Action Plan, Greece
stated that this 40% renewable electricity in 2020 would break down into 24%
from wind, 9% from hydro, 4% PV, 1% biomass, 1% geothermal and 1% CSP. In its
2008 ‘Pure Power’ report, EWEA predicted that Greece would install 6,500- 8,500
MW of wind power capacity by 2020, providing between 22% and 29% of the
country’s power.
In an interview wtih Greece's Energy Minister,Tina Birbili,
EWEA asked the Minisetr what portion of the 20% do she expect wind energy to
meet? The Minister answered " Our 2020 target for electricity from renewables is
40%. Out of that 40%, wind will account for 25% and the other 15% will come from
other renewables. This results in 10% wind contribution in the overall 20%
figure, when it comes to the total final energy consumption." additionally, the
Minister said in regards to renewable energy measures "There are two critical
things. The fi rst has to do with the new legislative framework we established
by law in early June 2010 which a) accelerates permitting procedures, b) removes
non-technical barriers for realising large projects, including grid
interconnections, in order to exploit the huge wind potential of our Aegean sea
islands, c) foresees years to one to 1.5 years and, most importantly, we have
built a One-Stop-Shop in the ministry to accelerate the licensing procedures. We
also did some indirect work regarding public acceptance by providing incentives,
through the reduction of their electricity bill, to people living close to wind
farms. We are aware that much more has to be done regarding public acceptance
and awareness and we plan to put additional effort into that.