Greece's Largest Solar Roof in Athens Installed for Olympic Games

August 13, 2004

In time for the Olympic Games RWE SCHOTT Solar has begun operation of the country’s largest rooftop solar-energy unit in Athens. Supported by its Greek and German partners, this will help the company to further strengthen its market position in Greece.

"With this unit on the roof of the German School in Athens we aim to encourage the Greek government in introducing an incentive scheme along the lines of the German Feed In Tariff", comments Dr. Winfried Hoffmann, Spokesman for the Board at RWE SCHOTT Solar and currently President of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA). With its 1,700 hours of sunshine each year, Greece is in an optimal position to generate cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solar electricity. The initial costs for conventional electricity during the peak period around midday are already comparable to those of solar energy. Furthermore, the 33-kilowatt (kW) solar roof saves the city of Athens over 24 tons (t) of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) each year.

ECO//SUN, the RWE SCHOTT Solar licenced dealer for Greece and Cyprus in Salonika, installed the solar roof. "We were able to set up the unit in 7 days and connect it to the public grid", explains Georgios Kazantzidis, CEO of ECO//SUN Hellas. With its 50 % share of the market, ECO//SUN is the largest solar-energy company in Greece. "Now we’re hoping for the rapid introduction of a law regulating feed in of renewable energy into the Greek grid, so as to reach the new government’s ambitious environmental targets", adds Kazantzidis.

The project is backed by German Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor (BMWA), the German Energy Agency (dena) and the Greek-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In addition, RWE SCHOTT Solar GmbH and its partner Solar-Fabrik AG donated the solar unit, which is worth 200,000 euros.

Situated some 300 meters from the Olympic Stadium, the German School will serve as the Media Center during this summer’s Games. Each day, the solar roof will be the stage for interviews with the competitors, politicians and VIPs. Once the Olympics are over, the solar panels will help to demonstrate solar-energy technology to teachers, pupils and their parents.

Source: RWE SCHOTT Solar GmbH