CRES: Time to use renewable sources
Greece’s Center for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES) said yesterday recent developments in the energy industry, particularly in the oil sector, have highlighted the urgent need for tapping alternative sources. «Renewable sources – sun, wind, rivers, organic materials such as wood, even waste of household and farm origins – offer energy that is never exhausted; Greece has a substantial potential which can provide a real alternative solution to meeting our energy requirements,» CRES said in a statement. CRES argues that the use of renewable sources is accompanied by no or minimal production of aerial emissions that contribute to the danger of climatic changes, as well as promoting sustainable development, given that fossil fuels are exhaustible. They also contribute to the security of energy supplies, given that the EU is more than 50 percent dependent on imports of fossil fuels. The agency noted that there are four European Union directives for promoting the relevant technologies: – Directive 2001/77/EC, which sets for Greece a target of 20 percent of total electric energy production from renewable sources by 2010. – Directive 2002/91/EC places emphasis on rules for the saving and management of energy consumption in buildings. -Directive 2003/30/EC sets targets of 2 percent for the use of liquid biofuels in transport by 2005 and 5.75 percent by 2010. -Directive 2004/8/EC for the cogeneration of heat and power (CHP) in small installations.
