The energy ministry is close to delivering a draft bill that promises to accelerate the development of Greece’s nascent offshore wind farms sector by enabling EDEYEP, the Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company, to establish subsidiaries and, as a result, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for commissioning wind and deep-sea studies at marine areas to host a first wave of offshore wind farms.

The ministry is determined to get things rolling as the country’s National Energy and Climate Plan for 2030 includes a goal noting that 1.9 GW in offshore wind farms should be under development by the end of the decade.

All required studies will need to be carried out as swiftly as possible to ensure that development of the first wave of offshore wind farms has begun by 2030. State-owned EDEYEP’s ability to establish subsidiaries will help the overall effort as bureaucracy linked to public-sector contracts will be avoided.

A total of six marine areas have been selected to host the first wave of 1.9-GW in offshore wind farms. These are located off Crete, Gyaros, Rhodes and Evia. The energy ministry plans to begin with a group of pilot projects representing approximately 400 MW.