Papastavrou: Greece Ranks 3rd Globally in Solar Power Generation

Greece is cementing its presumption arsenic a cardinal subordinate successful the region’s vigor landscape, according to Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou, who spoke to the Greek tv web Action24 astir caller legislative developments and bilateral agreements helium said spot Greece astatine the forefront of a caller vigor architecture successful Southeastern Europe.

A New Law, and a Storage Challenge

Papastavrou’s comments came a time aft Parliament passed, by bulk vote, a wide-ranging vigor bill introduced by the Ministry of Environment and Energy. The authorities modernizes Greece’s regulatory model for renewable vigor accumulation and use, transposing 3 caller EU directives into nationalist law. It besides includes provisions connected vigor marketplace regulation, municipality planning, biology and forestry protection, and the staffing of the ministry and its oversight bodies.

The curate utilized the juncture to underscore the country’s lasting successful planetary renewable vigor production. “Greece is 3rd successful the satellite successful energy generated from star vigor and ninth from wind,” helium said — figures that bespeak years of accelerated concern successful renewables, driven successful portion by Greece’s obligations nether EU clime policy.

Despite that progress, Papastavrou identified vigor retention arsenic the sector’s astir pressing challenge. “We are present moving connected the contented of storage, which is important for the stableness of the system,” helium said. The intermittent quality of star and upwind powerfulness means that without capable retention infrastructure, surplus vigor tin beryllium wasted and proviso tin go unreliable — a well-documented hurdle for renewable-heavy grids crossed Europe.

The curate besides pointed to Greece’s resilience during caller planetary marketplace turbulence. Despite renewed tensions successful the Middle East successful April, energy prices announced for May remained flat. Papastavrou attributed that stableness mostly to the country’s precocious stock of renewable energy, which helium said insulates Greek consumers from immoderate of the volatility of fossil substance markets.

The Vertical Energy Corridor

Papastavrou besides commented connected precocious announced semipermanent vigor agreements with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania, framing them arsenic steps toward gathering retired the Vertical Corridor.  He said the deals make the contractual instauration needed to pull concern successful cross-border infrastructure, adding that semipermanent agreements of this benignant are a prerequisite for the corridor to instrumentality shape.

Fiscal Room for Future Support

On the broader economical context, Papastavrou noted that Greece is among lone 5 of the European Union’s 27 subordinate states presently moving a superior fund surplus — a metric that measures authorities revenues against expenditures, excluding indebtedness servicing costs. After much than a decennary of terrible austerity pursuing the 2010 indebtedness crisis, Greece’s instrumentality to fiscal surpluses represents a important turnaround.

The curate said that presumption gives the authorities the budgetary flexibility to present targeted enactment measures for citizens should vigor costs emergence again. “We are 1 of the fewer countries that person this ability,” helium said.