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EBRD commits EUR300 million to renewable energy development in Greece

EBRD commits EUR300 million to renewable energy development in Greece Greece Independence Day (source: flickr/ John D. Carnessiotis, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 9 Mar 2017

The EBRD has approved a EUR 300 million funding facility to support development of renewable energy development in Greece, which can include geothermal projects as the country is blessed with favourable resources.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) continues its efforts to support renewable energy development. EBRD has now announced a EUR 300 million finance facility to help strengthen the green economy in Greece.

The EBRD Board of Directors has approved a framework committing up to EUR 300 million ($317 million) to finance renewable energy investments in the country.

The facility will finance investments in electricity generation from renewable sources and in electricity distribution and transmission capacity to improve efficiency, reduce losses and enable the integration of renewables into the grid.

With great geothermal resources, the country has so far not managed to develop geothermal power projects and the funding now provided could help change that.

The funding facility follows the establishment by Greece in 2016 of a new, more market-based, renewable-energy support scheme that introduces competitive auctions to replace fixed-price feed-in tariffs. It will also contribute to the country’s target of adding 2.4 GW of new green-energy generation capacity by 2020.

The EBRD’s new framework will focus on mobilising much-needed investment and commercial financing to support Greece exploit its huge potential for renewables, including solar, wind, biomass and geothermal power. Strengthening renewable sources of energy will lessen Greece’s dependence on fossil fuels and imports. The framework is expected to result in annual emissions savings of 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Harry Boyd-Carpenter, the EBRD’s new Director for Power and Energy, said: “This framework marks a milestone in our engagement in Greece. It provides us with the opportunity to play an important role in ensuring that the country’s new renewables scheme is successful and thus supporting Greece’s energy security and carbon-reduction goals. The EBRD renewable energy framework will make the Greek economy greener, more resilient and more competitive.”

 

Source: EBRD