What Do Capacity Deployment Rates Tell Us about the Efficiency of Electricity Generation from Renewable Energy Sources Support Measures in Greece?

• Main Authors: Sotiris Papadelis, Vasssilis Stavrakas, Alexandros Flamos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-01-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: energy policy efficiency; energy policy assessment; renewable energy sources (RES) support; feed-in tariffs (FITs)
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/9/1/38

The efficiency of fiscal support for electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES-E) is a multifaceted notion that cannot be adequately described by a single metric. Efficiency is related to the ability of a policy measure to support deployment without creating negative feedback effects. These negative effects may stem from saturation of the grid’s ability to absorb an increased amount of RES-E power, the inability of regulatory bodies to cope with the larger workload due to the increased number of projects requesting permits or from rent-seeking behavior. Furthermore, the primary rationale for feed-in tariffs (FITs) and other fiscal support schemes is that increased deployment of RES-E technologies will lead to reductions in costs and increases in efficiency. As a result, the efficiency of an RES-E support policy should be also judged by its ability to capitalize on cost reductions. Overall, we present an approach to facilitate ongoing assessments of the efficiency of support measures for RES-E deployment. We demonstrate the proposed approach using the FIT support policy in Greece as a case study. In particular, the RES-E support policy in Greece has been recently revised through tariff cuts and a moratorium on new production licenses. We aim to demonstrate that if publicly available data are appropriately monitored, a policy revision can take place in a timelier and less disruptive manner.