Ambitious RES bill on the table
The installment of some 8,000 to 10,000 environmentally friendly mega-watts of power by 2020 is the government’s new target sought through a bill to promote renewable energy sources (RES) that Environment and Energy Minister Tina Birbili presented yesterday. On an annual basis, this target translates into 1,000 installed MW in power from RES, against just 200 MW installed annually over the last few years. The target also concerns consumers, in that electricity rates will not rise as much as they would have in the period following RES installation. The bill aims at cutting the lengthy delays in the licensing of RES projects by simplifying the process and making Greece more attractive to such investments. A key innovation introduced is the investor’s ability to proceed with various licensing procedures simultaneously. The draft law further provides for the merger of the two environmental studies required into one.
