The government announcements regarding the implementation of green policies in the energy sector are reflected in law 3851/2010 on Accelerating the Development of RES and confronting Climate Change that came into force on 04.06.2010. The Law includes improvements to the existing framework, especially regarding the licensing process for power plants, some of which are:

  • shorter period for obtaining the necessary permits and deciding on disputes and objections,
  • the production permit does not include environmental procedures (PPE) and is granted by the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) and not by the Ministry for the Environment (YPEKA),
  • establishment of an independent RES agency in YPEKA that shall inform and facilitate all parties concerned and also be an intermediary between different authorities,
  • explicit exemption from the permits for production, installation and operation of low power stations.

The above provisions reduce the time of issuing the required licenses from five to six years in about a year, if no delays occur (eg appeals and objections). However there are procedures that should be committed with the cooperation between authorities without the participation of the applicants. One such provision prescribes that in case of a delay of the installation permit, the applicant himself should request an extension of the production license with a different application. Finally, the law contains a number of transitional provisions that differentiate the application of the new law, depending on the stage of applications pending.