State incentives for green energy projects
The government is planning new funding tools that aim to achieve the greatest possible leveraging of funds for “green investments” in order to meet the ambitious targets of the National Plan for Energy and the Climate, according to statements by the top officials of the Energy and Environment Ministry on Monday.
The targets require total investments of 43.8 billion euros in renewable energy sources (RES), natural gas and electricity transmission and distribution networks, electrical mobility and energy saving up to 2030. The government also intends to coordinate the ministries to give a boost to major investment projects in RES while weighing the strategic targets and the cost-benefit ratio.
The plan, presented yesterday during an event at the Bank of Greece, is currently in the public consultation stage, and the major investments it requires “will need not only the decisive contribution of the private sector but also the biggest possible leveraging of national and European Union resources,” according to Deputy Minister for Energy Gerassimos Thomas.
Minister Kostis Hatzidakis spoke of a “green investment explosion that will generate multiplying benefits across all sectors of the economy, beyond energy, into transport, the credit sector, construction, tourism, shipping and agriculture.” He went on to highlight the popular character of the plan, stressing that most of its actions directly concern citizens; he specifically cited the energy-saving actions related to energy upgrades for buildings, electromobility and investments in small solar energy systems.
General Secretary for Public Investment Dimitris Skalkos said the priority is for the main directions of the plan to be incorporated in the new EU-subsidized support framework, noting that an amount of around 7 billion euros should be set aside for green investments.
The head of the association of Greek RES producers (Hellas RES), Giorgos Peristeris, said that meeting the targets will depend on specific and ad hoc regulations for major investment projects that will make them possible.
