Transition to Renewable Energy In Times of Crisis: Is it Possible? Evidence from Greece

Nowadays, Greece finds itself in challenging times, facing a severe economic slowdown and political instability. At the same time, the country has witnessed an important loss of environmental legislation, budget cuts and absence of green investments, while energy poverty is a major problem for the low income households. The present study examines the evolution of the sector of renewable energy during the crisis (2009-2016) by analyzing a number of indicators and in line with the National and EU legislation. The results indicate that after the beginning of the crisis Greece managed to increase the share of renewable energy sources and both the market of photovoltaic and wind power are blooming. Despite that, the future of the sector remains unclear, as energy export is the main objective of the government, in an attempt to repay the debt. In the light of the aforementioned, we suggest that the crisis can been seen as an opportunity for a transition to clean energy economy in Greece, while the sector has the potential to attract further investments, in a country that suffers from economic stagnation and lack of investments. However, this is still a major challenge for the Greek government and requires high levels of political commitment in order to achieve the EU target of 18% by 2020.