South Stream Pipeline Underway

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) The agreement for the construction of the South Stream natural gas pipeline will be signed today (May 15) between Gazprom and all other participants in the project, in the Russian resort city of Sochi on the shores of the Black Sea, Greek Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis announced.    Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator (DESFA), a subsidiary of the Greek Public Gas Corporation (DEPA), will be signing on behalf of Greece. The minister, who will also attend the signing ceremony, noted the particular importance placed on the South Stream agreement and Greece’s broader cooperation with Russia.   Greek News Agenda: Greece-Russia forge ties; Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Energy Affairs

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Greek – Azeri Energy Plans

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, arrived in Greece yesterday – the first Azeri president to officially visit the country – with a delegation of officials from the Azeri state gas company. Aliyev expressed confidence that this trip would inaugurate a new era in bilateral relations, and emphasised the issue of energy security, noting that Azerbaijan had done much to give the rest of the world access to its considerable energy resources. President of the Hellenic Republic Karolos Papoulias received his counterpart on Monday and held talks on ways to further develop bilateral relations between the two nations. Aliyev also met with Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis and talks focused on the supply to Greece of 1 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year from Azerbaijan, as well as the signing of a four-party state agreement on the Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy pipeline. Greek and Azeri officials also signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on renewable energy sources. Greek News Agenda: Greece Turkey Interconnector; Secretariat General of Information: About Brand Greece – Energy Policy of Greece ; Centre for Renewable Energy Sources;

2009: Year of Renewable Energy Sources

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   “We want 2009 to be the year of renewable energy sources (RES),” Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis said yesterday after a Cabinet meeting. The recent legislative changes will speed up the increased use of RES by cutting red tape and introducing incentives, the development ministry said yesterday. Applications for some 42 gigawatts (GW) in RES development have been filed by investors and are awaiting approval by state bodies. In the near future, the ministry estimates that projects involving some 5 to 7 GW of wind parks and 2 GW of photovoltaic energy will be carried out.  An example of this is the launching of a solar energy (photovoltaic) park to be constructed by the company Intrakat on its own land near the facilities of is electromechanical constructions plant in the area of Giannouli, in the Larissa prefecture. For the construction of the park -in a total area of 4,000 square metres – several state-of-the-art solar power generators will be implemented. The joint use of a solar generators bank along with cutting edge Fuel Cells H2 technology will be used for the first time, at a cost effective formula. The construction works will commence in February of 2009 and the first primary measurements and results are expected to come out in late spring of this year. Kathimerini daily: Law change seen powering RES; Intrakat: Press Release (26.01.2009); Athens News Agency: PM chairs Cabinet meeting on energy  Ministry of Development: 4th National Report regarding the penetration level of renewable energy sources up to the year 2010; Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies: The Greek PV Market: New PV law passed in January 2009; Secretariat General of Information – World Media on Greece – Science and the Environment: Renewable Energy Sources in Greece   Additional Information: Centre for Renewable Energy Sources; & Secretariat General of Information: About Brand Greece – Energy Policy of Greece