The Greek PV market: ready for take off

Rotterdam, January 23, 2006 – The Greeks are ambitious when it comes to PV energy. Their goal is to have installed at least 700 MWp by 2020, so, with currently a total installed power of 6 MWp, the market will have to grow with more than 40% a year to achieve this. Recently, new legislation came into force and combined with interesting investment incentives, the Greek market is definitely the place to be. To provide a roadmap for entering this market, SolarPlaza wrote a market survey about the legal system, the procedures and investment opportunities, entitled “The Greek Feed-in-Tariff and Grants explained”. It will show that, when the right choices are made, major benefits can be gained from investing in the Greek PV market.

In June 2006 a new Feed-in tariff system was launched by the Greek government, guarantying €0.40 to €0.50 per kWh for the next 20 years. Accompanied by a relaxation of the licencing procedure and the possibility for combination of these benefits with investment grants and subsidies between 30 to 55%, the payback time of PV investment becomes very interesting in this sunny country. Calculations show that an even better return on investment than in Spain is possible in certain market segments.
SolarPlaza predicts that the market will grow faster every year. At the moment the infrastructure for the industry is not yet optimal, but once it is in place and working, the growth of the market could be enormous. To benefit from this growth, it is of great importance to know the best way through the bureaucracy and permit legislation of the Greek government and institutions.

“The Greek Feed-in-Tariff and Grants explained”, includes the steps to be taken in order to develop larger PV projects. In this 40-page easy-to-read market survey, you can find the facts related to the new Feed-in tariff system and detailed step-by-step plans of the licencing procedures. For example, for projects larger than 150 kWp, several licenses, permits and agreements are required, with procedures taking at least 225 days.

Following this report and the success of the trade missions to Spain and China, SolarPlaza will be organising the international “PV business Tour Greece and Italy” from 4-9 March 2007.

SolarPlaza.com is the global PV marketplace for trade and information. SolarPlaza offers a range of matchmaking and information services to empower the PV business for all players involved in the PV supply chain. “The Greek Feed-in-Tariff and Grants explained” (€ 149 with discounts for members) is the latest of the SolarPlaza reports on emerging PV markets. More information and an order form can be found at www.solarplaza.com

Contact: Edwin Koot, Director, SolarPlaza, +31 10 280 9198 or e.koot@solarplaza.com