Page 77 - European Energy Innovation - Winter 2014
P. 77
Winter 2014 European Energy Innovation 77

GREECE

Challenges and objectives of the
Greek energy policy

Greece is currently wide range of energy options for promotion of market mechanisms
undergoing a consumers should be ensured and the optimum exploitation of
systematic effort of and all imbalances in regards to domestic energy sources (both
recovering after a their access to energy should be conventional and renewables)
six-year period of continuous and normalized. The aim is to increase considering the technological
deep recession with severe effects competition and to mitigate developments of energy
on the society and the economy. as much as possible market technologies.
The energy sector in Greece is distortions and market power.
called upon to play a fundamental To this end, Greece has
role in this recovery process, by The Greek energy strategy, committed to foster the high
contributing to the social welfare considering the above, is penetration of RES in the Greek
and development of all sectors of consistently formulated under the energy system and improve
the Greek economy. following challenges: energy efficiency in end use,
as presented in detail in the
Ensuring energy supply is 1. Security of energy supply and respective national action plans.
crucial in order both to maintain diversification of energy mix
balanced social and economic In the field of electricity
conditions and to secure the 2. Protection of final consumers generation from RES, focus
competitiveness of the country. through energy products and has been placed on both
This revolves around three main services at a tolerable and technologies that have significant
pillars: rational cost physical potential and high
commercial maturity (i.e. wind
• maximizing the exploitation of 3. Energy poverty mitigation farms and photovoltaics).
indigenous energy potential, 4. Effective functioning of internal However, the rapid reduction
observed in the development
• identifying and differentiating energy market cost of photovoltaics (PV),
imported sources of supply 5. Protection of the environment combined with disproportionally
and high support foreseen in the
and climate change mitigation previous years, has led to an
• ensuring adequate energy 6. Improvement of energy abrupt increase of the investing
reserves for use during interest due to the high profit
potential supply crises efficiency in all sectors of final margin and subsequently to
consumption a significant growth of the PV
Moreover, the current economic 7. Protection and improvement of installed capacity, well over
environment stresses out the competitiveness of the Greek their estimated development,
urgent need for cost effectiveness industry projected in NREAP.
both in the supply and the 8. Sustainable development of all
demand side of the energy sectors of the economy However, this should not act as
sector. Priority should be given an indication for the evolution
to ensure reliable, affordable and These challenges will be of renewables in the short term,
adequate supply of energy to confronted through coordinated since the growth rate of new
all consumers and enterprises, actions which will span across RES installations is not expected
to strengthen their role in the four major areas, namely the
market. To make this possible, a improvement and update of
the legislative framework, the
implementation of infrastructure
projects, the development and

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