Renewable Energy Law and Wind Auction Announced in Panama

The National Assembly of Panama recently approved two renewable energy incentive laws. The incentive laws include import-tax and other tax exemptions on equipment, as well as a credit equal to 5 per cent of the value of civil works that are considered to be for public use. In a different development, the government announced the start of a process that will award 150 MW of wind energy contracts. This move could open the door for wind turbine installations in Panama. According to the economy minister, Mr Alberto Vallarino, the 150 MW of wind projects could be expanded depending on the capabilities of the participants.

Greece to Boost RE Investment

In a bid to encourage growth of renewable energy, the government of Greece introduced a slew of measures in 2010, including simplifying the investment process. Greece is believed to have a high potential for wind power generation. Yet, the country was third last in a study released by the European Wind Energy Association on the average amount of time taken by a nation to approve wind energy projects: A company is said to go through more than 40 different authorities in the process.

Greece has about 1,000 MW of wind energy installations and will need to produce as much as 12,000 MW annually to meet the European Union target for energy from renewable sources by 2020. Hence, in order to achieve this target, the Government wants to attract investment to build renewable energy projects. The Government passed a law aimed at reducing the approval time for renewable energy investments to as little as eight months from three years. It also reduced the time taken to get authorisation from the energy regulator to two months from the previous time period of a year.