««High politics» is successful when it reaches down to the grassroots, when it touches each and every one of us—as workers, as consumers, as a citizen—when it improves our daily lives and our financial well-being, when it improves the environment in which we live, work, and enjoy ourselves, and when, ultimately, it leaves a tangible positive impact on our lives,» said Ms. Alexandra Sdoukou, Secretary General for Energy and Mineral Resources at the Ministry of Environment and Energy, as she opened the special «Green Energy» webinar organized by the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA).
Focusing on the changes that energy investments will bring to citizens’ lives, through the use of resources from the Recovery Fund, the Secretary-General referred to the reduction in the cost of electricity through the interconnection of the islands, which also has a direct environmental impact, as their electricity supply currently relies heavily on petroleum or fuel oil.
Furthermore, as Ms. Sdoukou stated, the Recovery Fund will finance «a series of projects to strengthen and bury the distribution network, which will increase the network’s resilience. At the same time, however, they will also enhance the capacity to integrate more renewable energy sources,» noting that at present, «renewable energy sources are not only the best way to generate electricity from an environmental standpoint, but also the cheapest.» At the same time, as he emphasized, renewable energy projects create new, permanent, and high-quality jobs.
Specifically, the national recovery plan supports renewable energy through two major reforms, according to what Ms. Sdoukou told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA). First, it ensures the sustainability of ELAPE with 200 million euros, which would otherwise be paid by consumers through ETMEAR, and second, to simplify and digitize the licensing framework.
As the Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Energy announced to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) on Monday at the Committee on Renewable Energy Sources, the second phase of simplifying licensing procedures for projects promoting green energy will be discussed; as she notably pointed out, «we can better understand the scale of this undertaking if we consider that, following Law 3468/2006—which remains in effect to this day— a new, comprehensive licensing framework is being established for the first time, covering the entire process from the issuance of the Producer Certificate to the Operating License.».
The Secretary-General recalled that «last December, the Ministry of Environment and Energy submitted a request to the European Commission to extend the competitive procedures until 2024, with the capacity to be auctioned set at 2.1 GW for joint tenders for wind and solar power plants and an additional 1 GW through competitive procedures for special tender cases.» As he explained, each technology must secure at least 30% of the capacity to be auctioned.
He also emphasized that the Ministry of Environment and Energy has proposed holding tenders for renewable energy power plants that will be accompanied by energy storage facilities, as well as for offshore wind farms.
He referred to the significant volume of projects, digital transformation, innovation, as well as the technologies that promote the penetration of renewable energy sources for the benefit of investors and consumers, Dr. Dionysis Papachristou, a senior scientist and director of the RAE Press and Public Relations Office. «Today, based on official data, we have a high penetration rate of renewable energy projects,» he said, adding that, based on the updated National Energy and Climate Plan (ESEK), the goal is «to maximize the penetration of renewable energy at the lowest possible cost to consumers and with respect for the environment,» as Mr. Papachristou specifically noted.
The challenges in the renewable energy sector, the strong investor interest in new projects, as well as the need to ensure balance and fairness—both for investors and consumers—in the expansion of renewable energy were the key points of the statement by Dr. Stelios Loumakis, president of the Association of Photovoltaic Energy Producers.
Finally, Dr. Panagiotis Papastamatiou, general director of the Hellenic Scientific Association for Wind Energy (ELETAEN), speaking about the prospects for renewable energy, stressed the need for large-scale investments to ensure cleaner and cheaper energy, combining economic benefits with environmental protection. Finally, Mr. Papastamatiou addressed the need to respect local communities as well as investors and spoke out against the sweeping criticism directed at renewable energy. «Wind energy is part of the solution,» the general manager of ELETAEN emphatically stated.
Elias Palialexis
