Greece 189
comprising these three instruments targets all sectors (residential, commercial,
and public). Other instruments found to appear in the most robust portfolios
include the deployment of smart metering systems and the promotion of EPC
benefits at the residential sector, as well as the retrofits of street lighting and
pump stations at the municipal level (Forouli et al., 2019). Regarding the widescale deployment of smart meters, although not as cost, energy, or risk efficient
as other instruments considered, they were included in the resulting optimal
policy mixes as a fixed budget has been secured by the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator exclusively for this instrument.
Challenges, opportunities and risks in the longer term
All stakeholders acknowledged that the Greek building sector is the sector with
the largest potential for easy- to-implement improvements in energy consumption, along with power generation. For a country with Greece’s potential for
solar and thermal solar system exports, there are many opportunities in promoting solar heating and cooling systems. Rational energy use is also based on the
installation and management of optimised BEMSs, replacement of old devices
and motors of low energy performance, investments in building shells and insulation, diffusion of other renewable energy sources in the built environment (e.g.
geothermal power), and wide- scale development of building- integrated photovoltaics, which constitute both available and efficient technological solutions
but are expensive. Especially in the Greek islands, where demand varies significantly throughout the year, use of large solar power storage batteries could
potentially help overcome the current challenges in promoting sustainable
energy without heavy investments in linking the mainland and noninterconnected networks or new power plants.
This sectoral preference, however, is concerned not only with energy efficiency but also with the vision of the overall Greek low- carbon transition in
general. This can be partly explained by the perceived infrastructural challenges
associated with the transformation of the transport sector; the limited financial
capacity to invest in decarbonising practices in either an otherwise small heavy
industrial sector or a practically non- existent light industrial sector, with negligible potential for emission reductions; and the limited interest from those
involved in the agricultural sector.
Implementation risks
Stakeholders agreed on ten major implementation risks with regard to existing
barriers posing direct or indirect threats to the successful design, funding, and
implementation of a sustainable and effective energy efficiency policy framework. On the social axis, stakeholders considered that societal participation is
the major barrier to achieving an energy- efficient economy; however, they disassociated the lack of public awareness from distrust of government or institutions
and respective societal opposition. From a political perspective, instability in the
comprising these three instruments targets all sectors (residential, commercial,
and public). Other instruments found to appear in the most robust portfolios
include the deployment of smart metering systems and the promotion of EPC
benefits at the residential sector, as well as the retrofits of street lighting and
pump stations at the municipal level (Forouli et al., 2019). Regarding the widescale deployment of smart meters, although not as cost, energy, or risk efficient
as other instruments considered, they were included in the resulting optimal
policy mixes as a fixed budget has been secured by the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator exclusively for this instrument.
Challenges, opportunities and risks in the longer term
All stakeholders acknowledged that the Greek building sector is the sector with
the largest potential for easy- to-implement improvements in energy consumption, along with power generation. For a country with Greece’s potential for
solar and thermal solar system exports, there are many opportunities in promoting solar heating and cooling systems. Rational energy use is also based on the
installation and management of optimised BEMSs, replacement of old devices
and motors of low energy performance, investments in building shells and insulation, diffusion of other renewable energy sources in the built environment (e.g.
geothermal power), and wide- scale development of building- integrated photovoltaics, which constitute both available and efficient technological solutions
but are expensive. Especially in the Greek islands, where demand varies significantly throughout the year, use of large solar power storage batteries could
potentially help overcome the current challenges in promoting sustainable
energy without heavy investments in linking the mainland and noninterconnected networks or new power plants.
This sectoral preference, however, is concerned not only with energy efficiency but also with the vision of the overall Greek low- carbon transition in
general. This can be partly explained by the perceived infrastructural challenges
associated with the transformation of the transport sector; the limited financial
capacity to invest in decarbonising practices in either an otherwise small heavy
industrial sector or a practically non- existent light industrial sector, with negligible potential for emission reductions; and the limited interest from those
involved in the agricultural sector.
Implementation risks
Stakeholders agreed on ten major implementation risks with regard to existing
barriers posing direct or indirect threats to the successful design, funding, and
implementation of a sustainable and effective energy efficiency policy framework. On the social axis, stakeholders considered that societal participation is
the major barrier to achieving an energy- efficient economy; however, they disassociated the lack of public awareness from distrust of government or institutions
and respective societal opposition. From a political perspective, instability in the