ELECTRIFYING GREECE WITH SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY by

Ensuring energy security, reducing GHG emissions and boosting the competi-tiveness of a country’s economy by attracting investments and technical knowhow are of paramount importance considering the targets of “20-20-20 ” set by the European community. Being the cradle of civilization, Greece appears today as a country caught in a prolonged hard economic and social crisis, the way out of which its citizens are looking forward as well as the entire European Union. Es-tablishment of the leading renewable energy sources like solar and wind in Greece will not only increase the independence of its own electrification but will also provide with a foundation for developing the market of international trade of “green ” energy. This paper initially highlights the current status of photovoltaics and wind turbines in Greece. Furthermore, this study evaluates whether a higher penetration of the above mentioned green energy sources would have positive impact in the economy of the country or not and in what extent they could decline the CO2 emissions until 2020, comparing to the corresponding levels in 2010. Key words: solar, PV, wind, lignite, oil, electricity consumption and demand, environmental assessmen