SEP 06

Greece has laid out a new plan to get itself out of a recession and to spread renewable energy through the country and the EU.  The new plan called Project Helios would see the country expanding its solar power capacity to 10 GW by 2050 through financing by international investors.

Greece is hoping to capitalize on one of it's great resources:  the country gets 300 sunny days a year.  Greece would lease out land to investors to build solar installations as a way to generate income and add jobs. To make the deal more attractive to investors, the country is promising to greatly ease licensing obstacles and cut out most of the red tape involved in building these projects.

The solar power systems would be connected to the mainland, islands and to the rest of continent, which would help other EU countries meet the renewable energy mandate that requires member countries to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2020.  The set up would be similar to the huge DESERTEC project in North Africa, but on a smaller scale within the EU.

The project would see 2.2 GW of capacity installed by 2020, 10 GW by 2050 and ultimately the country would become an exporter of renewable energy.

via Greentech Media

Comments (10)

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The Solar Cargo Cult, Low-rated comment [Show]

Any hard facts?
written by hyperspaced, September 07, 2011

Do you have any hard fact about your claim "all european banks are insolvent" ?

Why do you say the production of clean energy is immaterial ? The short term benefit is that it will make the country self-sustained, not having to depend on buying energy from Bulgaria (nuclear power plant), Russia (natural gas) etc. thus helping with the trade deficit.
In the long run, the environmental and population health benefits are substantial.

You DO know about constant advancements in solar panel technology/price, don't you ?

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Gotta love this!
written by environmental control solution, September 07, 2011

definitely positive...

"The short term benefit is that it will make the country self-sustained, not having to depend on buying energy from Bulgaria (nuclear power plant), Russia (natural gas) etc. thus helping with the trade deficit.
In the long run, the environmental and population health benefits are substantial." - hyperspaced

Put wonderfully and worthy of repeat!

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written by sarah, September 09, 2011

the EU's energy policy is bold and should be applauded at many levels. People fail to understand that energy from the old conventional sources are limited. If there is an option to reduce energy dependency why wouldn't you? Even in business, optimizing a fixed cost will improve profitability. We are too infatuated with instant gratification. imo

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written by noob, September 09, 2011

That wont help greece,you just have to look at Spain which is number 4 in wind energy and it has the highest unemployment rate in Europe, and is also in crisis

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Look closely at what happened in Spain.
written by Captain TickTock, September 10, 2011

Spain had unsustainable subsidies for Solar Energy, and had to cut them drastically in 2008, which has had terrible consequences for the (artificially inflated) solar industry. This sort of boom-bust policy doesn't do a lot to inspire confidence in alternative energy. The subsidy needs to be enough to encourage adoption, but not so much that it is unsustainable.

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written by John, September 13, 2011

It's always a good idea to learn that governments are considering eco friendly sources of energy but I agree with TickTock that the subsidy needs to encourage adoption and investment but at the same time it has to help the development of this industry.

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The Sunny Windy Environment
written by Tim Bashista, September 14, 2011

Great article, it goes to show that if the need and want is there it can happen. Let's hope this spreads, so other things do not.
http://photovoltaiceffect.blogspot.com

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written by ron, November 09, 2011

Great idea, Greece has the right climate with lots of sunshine. But with the present economic situation in Greece I think that this project will be put on hold for some time.

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written by john, June 12, 2012

got to get ideas from spain??? oh well sharing is loving


ron
stop foreclosures ontario

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