wide off the mark, and will require long-term and
costly exploration, which has not been carried out
till this date neither in the Libyan Sea, nor the
South Aegean.
“All these years, there have only been 175
drillings in Greece, of which just 12 in the Aegean,
whereas, for example, 2,500 drillings have been
made in Albania”, stated Mr. Maniatis.
The Deputy Minister emphatically ruled out any
scenario concerning the joint exploitation of the
Aegean’s resources, and stated that Greece will
decide, on the basis of its own national strategy,
when and how to exercise its rights in regard to
the establishment of Exclusive Economic Zones
(EEZs), while, in regard to the establishment of
the continental shelf with Turkey, he repeated that
Greece seeks the peaceful resolution of this dis-
pute in accordance with the provisions of the Law
of the Sea; to this end, overtures to the other side
have been intensified.
RES-Green Growth
The Minister, Mrs. Tina Birbili, describes green
energy as a new industrial era. And sets the triple
target of “20-20-20”, that is the reduction of green-
house gases by 20%, the increase of energy effi-
ciency by 20% and the increase of RES participa-
tion in total electricity generation to 20% by 2020.
According to Ms. Birbili, energy policy is linked to
four growth pillars: Energy efficiency, RES, clean-
er lignite-fired power generation and natural gas.
Last May, the Parliament passed the Law on
“Accelerating the development of Renewable
Energy Sources to deal with climate change”, a
law that drastically reduces licensing times,
unblocks old investments, and establishes the
conditions for new ones.
As stated by the Minister, “the Greek low carbon
market entails RES investments and savings of
€16 billion by 2015. This amount also includes the
necessary grid and interconnection investments,
which are estimated at an additional €4-5 billion”.
She estimates that, in 2011, investment in RES
and networks will amount to €1.9 billion. “It is esti-
mated that photovoltaic arrays of 100 to 250 MW
will be established in Greece during 2011.
Assuming an average of 175 MW, almost €650
million will be invested.
“In September 2010, wind farm installed capacity
amounted to 1,218.5 MW, while new connection
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