Environmental analysis: Sustainable solar energy for Greece

Greece is doing its bit to slow climate change as energy company Clarus Esco has signed a deal for the first Sustainable Energy solar rooftops in the country.

The Canadian group has made an agreement with the Greek energy services organisation for its recently developed Paralex packages and Sunergy inverters.

It is estimated that 70 flat and corrugated rooftop systems will be used, totalling 400kW, during 2010.

Axel Hartung, vice president of Sustainable Energy, said: "Greece has an exceptional solar resource and attractive feed-in tariffs, making it a very lucrative market."

These solar generation packages are reported to deliver a five to ten per cent increased energy yield on other micro-inverter products.

Observers predict that between 2010 and 2012, growth of the solar energy market will continue at a compound annual rate in excess of 32 per cent and will incur an estimated fall in costs between nine and 13 per cent each year.

Greece's movement towards solar energy follows concerns over its primary alternative source. The country's heavy usage of natural gas entails a significant outflow of resources, which is likely to hit its already weak economy.

Sustainable Energy has also signed deals with energy suppliers in Spain.

Posted by Claire Manning