“Greece in 2022 won first place among European countries in terms of the participation of photovoltaics in the energy mix, the second place on the planet in terms of attracting investments in Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and the eighth in terms of the total participation of RES in the electrical energy mix. In 2019 the country recorded 11 TWh from RES, while in 2022 we reached 20 TWh”.

This was pointed out by the Minister of Environment and Energy Kostas Skrekas at an annual event of the Administrator of RES and Guarantees of Origin SA (DAPEEP), in the presence of government actors and representatives of the energy market. In fact, he emphasized that DAPEEP, through the subsidies granted by the Energy Transition Fund, of which it is the manager, “in an unprecedented energy crisis kept Greek society – households and professionals – upright, in a fast, efficient and flexible way”.

In particular, according to Mr. Skrekas, and based on the forecasts of the new National Plan for Energy and Climate, “the goal is that by 2030, 80% of electricity consumption in Greece should come from RES. We have already reached 42% and by 2026 we will reach 66%. We have very ambitious goals that we can all achieve together,” he said.

Mr. Skrekas emphasized that twice as many RES were installed in one year than the total of the 2015-2018 four-year period “and this is not accidental, but a matter of work and strategy, as the government ensured facilitation in the licensing of RES and achieved a safe investment climate with the contribution of DAPEEP”, as he said.

“We are focused on how to achieve the best result at the lowest cost for the benefit of consumers,” he said.

The Minister of State also pointed out the emphasis placed on the absorption of clean energy as he stated that in 2022 we have reached 300 million in investments in networks through DEDDIE while in 2023 we will exceed 350 million.

For his part, the chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of DAPEEP, Yannis Jarentis, pointed out that it is the company’s duty to support the citizens and the market in practice.

In fact, as he said, in August 2019 the company was more than 3 months late in payments with an opening of 1 billion euros – of which 400 million were receivables from RES producers and 600 million overdue debts to the DAPEEP. This opening of one 1 billion has been covered, since we have zero obligations to producers, outstanding and zero past due, uncollectible.

“No one owes us anything and we have no claims from third parties while at the same time we pay the producers per month thanks to the digital transformation”, he emphasized, adding the need to support and strengthen the company’s human resources, as well as the expansion of activities throughout the range of services for RES.

As Mr. Jarentis said: “We supported the Greek society in practice. We managed the Energy Transition Fund and in particular we gave 8.3 billion, having coped with this period with full coverage of the requirements of the government and the political leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with zero problems without complaints, thanks to the extra effort of the few colleagues of DAPEEP and to whom I thank” .

It is noted that DAPEEP manages about 12 billion euros: 8.5 billion of TEM, 2.5 billion of ELAPE and 1.3 billion of the pollutant exchange, which is the auctioneer.

For her part, Alexandra Sdoukou, Secretary General of Energy and Mineral Raw Materials, characterized DAPEEP as an important arm of the country’s energy policy while pointing out the need for the adoption of a model corporate governance in order to ensure labor stability and security, the full digital transformation, but also the expansion of the company’s responsibilities in the renewable energy sector.

The general secretary of Fiscal Policy, Thanos Petralias, emphasized that “what Greece managed to do in dealing with the energy crisis was a model for all of Europe and that is why it is being copied” and added the need to expand the powers of the Energy Transition Fund, of which he is the manager DAPEEP, for the benefit of society.

From the market, George Rokas, CEO of R-Energy, expressed his satisfaction with the initiatives of recent years, speaking of a “new page after years” in the RES sector. As he said: “It is a healthy market where the percentage of non-performing loans reaches only 0.3% in the three billion bank “opening”, while at the same time over 10,000 new jobs have been created in recent years.”

Ilias Palialexis