CURRENT RES SITUATION IN GREECE

Introduction - Definition

According to Article 2 of Greek Law 2773 of 1999, on the liberalisation of the domestic electricity market, renewable energy is that arising from the exploitation of wind, solar, biomass, biogas, geothermal, sea (wave / tidal) and small (<10 MWe) hydro resources, or their combinations. The same working definition is used in both financial instruments currently utilised for State support of RES projects, namely the so-called National Development Law (Law 2601 of 1998, on the "State support of private investments") and the Greek Operational Programme for Competitiveness (a sectoral programme of the third Community Support Framework for Greece, covering the time period 2000-2006).

It is worth noting that the above definition of renewables, unlike the corresponding definition of Article 2 of the European Directive 2001/77/EC, does not include the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal wastes, nor the RES hybrid systems also using conventional energy sources.

1. The Current Legislative and Administrative Framework for RES Projects

1.1 Laws
The basic law governing RES electricity is Law 2773 of 1999, on the liberalisation of the domestic electricity market, and, specifically, its Chapter 10, Articles 35-41. This law has incorporated the majority of provisions of the earlier Law 2244 of 1994, which, unlike Law 2773, was devoted entirely to RES electricity matters. At present, there is no Greek law dealing specifically with heat production from RES. The key provisions of Law 2773/99 concerning renewables are as follows :

i) The Transmission System Operator (TSO) is obligated to grant priority access (priority in load dispatching) to RES electricity-producing installations up to 50 MWe in power capacity (up to 10 MWe in the case of small hydroelectric units).

ii) The TSO is obligated to enter into a 10-year contract (PPA) with the RES-electricity producer, for the purchase of his electricity. The contract always includes a renewal option.

iii) The RES-electricity production of an independent power producer, or the surplus electricity production of a RES autoproducer, is sold to the TSO at a predetermined buy-back rate, which is fixed percentage of the corresponding consumer electricity rate.

iv) Every RES-electricity producer is subject to a special reciprocity charge (annual fee), specified by a joint decision of the Ministers of Finance and Development, and equal to two-percent (2%) of the producer's electricity sales to the grid. This charge is collected by the TSO and is given to the Local Authority, within the area of which the RES generation unit operate, for the purpose of realising local development projects.

Law 2773/99 instituted a new license, the so-called electricity generation license, which is now the first license required to be obtained by any electricity-producing station, conventional or RES-based, in a long planning / licensing procedure that also includes presiting permit, land-use permit, approval of environmental terms and conditions, installation license, operation license, etc.

Law 2941 of 2001 supplemented Law 2773/99 with certain important provisions about renewables, including : a) the definition of the general terms and conditions, under which it is allowed to install RES stations in forests and forestry lands, and b) the characterisation of all RES projects as projects of public utility status, which gives them the same rights and privileges in land expropriation procedures as those given to public works, independently of the legal status of the RES project owner (being private or public).

Finally, Law 3010 of 2002 specified the general terms, procedures and requirements for obtaining the necessary environmental licenses for any given investment project (including, as such, a RES project).

1.2 Ministerial Decrees
Laws 2244/94, 2773/99 and 2941/01 on renewables, as well as Law 3010/02 on environmental licensing, are supplemented by a number of Ministerial Decrees, which specify:

a) The procedures, required documents, fees, etc. for issuing the generation, installation and operation licenses, necessary to all RES-to-power projects;

b) The general technical and financial terms of the contract to be concluded between the Transmission System Operator (TSO) and each RES power producer, the details of the electricity tariffication system to be applied, the terms and conditions for connecting the RES station to the grid, etc.

The most important of the above Ministerial Decrees (MD) and Joint Ministerial Decrees (JMD) are summarised below:

1. MD 17951/2000 : Terms and procedures for obtaining the electricity generation license

2. JMD 15393/2002 : Categorisation of activities / projects according to their potential environmental impact. RES projects are categorised according to RES type (technology) and installed capacity. For example, wind parks between 5 and 40 MWe fall into the 1st environmental category (high potential impact), subcategory # 2.

3. JMD 11014/2003 : Specific terms, procedures and requirements for obtaining the necessary environmental licenses (preliminary environmental impact assessment, approval of environmental terms and conditions), for all types of projects and activities categorised under JMD 15393/2002 above.

4. MD 2000/2002 : Specific terms, procedures and requirements for obtaining the RES installation and operation licenses, as well as a model contract (PPA) between the TSO and the RES power producer.

5. MD 31928/1993 : ( in conjunction with Law 3175/2003) : Terms, procedures and fees for obtaining the necessary concession license, for the right to exploit a geothermal field.

6. MD 5813/1989 : (in conjunction with Law 1739/1987) : Terms and procedures for obtaining the necessary "unified water license", which is a license for water use and for carrying out any project of exploitation of water resources (including energy valorisation).

7. JMD 1726/2003 : This Joint Ministerial Decision marks a breakthrough in the State's intensifying efforts to rationalise and simplify the complex and very lengthy licensing procedures for RES-to-power projects. These procedures constitute today the single, most difficult obstacle in the effective materialisation of commercial-scale RES investments in Greece.

JMD 1726/2003 is signed by the ministers of all six (6) Ministries that are co-responsible for the RES licensing procedure (Figure 1), namely the Ministries of : a) Development, b) Environment, Land Planning & Public Works, c) Agriculture, d) Culture, e) Transportation & Communications and f) National Defense.

The said JMD covers all three basic (and time consuming) stages of the RES licensing procedure, and more specifically those of :

i) Preliminary environmental impact assessment
ii) Approval of environmental terms and conditions
iii) Approval of intervention on public land

First, the JMD defines clearly and unambiguously the specific public authorities, agencies and directorates that are required to give an opinion (or to make a decision) regarding the licensing of a RES project . Second, the JMD describes in detail the contents of the opinion, to be given by each one of the above authorities or agencies. Third, the JMD sets strict deadlines for the licensing authorities or agencies, within which they are required to give their opinions about the RES project under consideration. These deadlines have an irrevocable character, i.e. beyond them, the respective authorities, agencies, committees, etc., that have not responded, are counted as having positive opinions (answers) towards the given RES project, and the licensing procedure moves on to the next stage.

The licensing deadlines, set by JMD 1726/2003, are as follows :

1. Preliminary environmental impact assessment : 30 working days (total)
2. Approval of environmental terms and conditions : 60 working days (total)
3. Approval of intervention on public land : 40 working days (total)

Total licensing time for RES projects : 90 working days (total)

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Ministerial Decision 1726/2003

MD 1726/2003: "PROCEDURES FOR THE APPROVAL OF PRELIMINARY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTS, ENVIRONMENTAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS, TRANSFER OF PROPERTY OR OF THE RIGHT TO USE FORESTS AND SCRUBLANDS, IN THE CONTEXT OF ISSUING OF INSTALLATION PERMITS FOR POWER PLANTS USING RENEWABLES "

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Ministerial Decision 2000/2002

MD 2000/2002: "PROCEDURES FOR THE ISSUING OF INSTALLATION AND OPERATION PERMITS OF POWER PLANTS USING RENEWABLES, AS WELL AS FORMS OF RELEVANT POWER-PURCHASE CONTRACTS"

[.pdf format - 0.5 MB]

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