Renewables. A boon for developing countries

Greece is not well known for its research into renewable energy, but it is a promising and growing field, and developing countries are set to potentially benefit from it. The CRES (Centre for Renewable Energy Sources), which operates as a national coordinator in this area, conducts groundbreaking research for Greece as well as the European Commission and third party countries.

The EC project PEPESEC (Partnership Energy Planning for European Sustainable Energy Communities) which involved 11 countries, was developed by CRES between 2008 and 2010 in the Maroussi (Amaroussion) suburb, north of Athens. Intelligent systems for planning and managing sustainable energy in the community were developed in conjunction with the City of Manchester. Maroussi is a national example for its dynamism in the search for durable energy solutions.

For over ten years successive Greek governments have taken measures to promote the use of renewable energy. Many legal provisions have been adopted to subsidise and encourage investment in this sector. Greece could boast of a success story before these incentives however, thanks to the dynamism of private enterprises pioneering the use of solar energy for providing hot water. Almost all dwellings in the country have these systems, placing Greece second in the EU after Cyprus, obtaining 15 per cent of its energy in 2010 from sustainable sources, with an EU recommended level at 10 per cent.

CRES plays a leading role in developing other uses of renewable energy. Among its major projects is the creation of a sustainable development technology centre in Alexandria, funded by Greek development cooperation, which aims to promote new materials and technologies in Egypt and the Middle East with the involvement of local businesses. Similar initiatives have been adopted in Armenia and Lebanon. In Serbia, Greek know-how is providing a central source of hot water from solar energy for the entire municipality of Cacak. On behalf of the European Union, CRES was also responsible for supporting a research institution in Jordan, specialising in wind energy and photovoltaic systems.

Another area in which the Greek centre conducts studies in collaboration with the University of Athens and other European research institutions is the exploitation of wave energy. The research into the use of geothermal heat pumps for heating or cooling, conducted with the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) is very promising. Other uses of geothermal water developed by CRES include projects on the desalination of sea water. The island of Rhodes, which has a great need for water, especially with increasing tourist demand, would be a direct beneficiary of this research. Developing countries could benefit from this research too.

Hegel Goutier