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About CRES



The Centre for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES) is the Greek centre for Renewable Energy Sources (RES), Rational Use of Energy (RUE) and Energy Saving (ES). CRES has been appointed as the national co-ordination centre in its areas of activity by Law 2244/94 and Law 2702/99.CRES was founded in September 1987 by the Presidential Decree 375. It is a public entity, supervised by the Ministry of Development, General Secretariat of Research and Technology, and has financial and administrative independence.
Its main goal is the promotion of RES/RUE/ES applications at a national and international level, as well as the support of related activities taking into consideration the environmental impacts, on energy supply and use.

Organizational Structure of CRES
The Centre is managed by a seven-member Board including representatives from the General Secretariat of Research and Technology/Ministry of Development, the PPC (Public Power Corporation) and the Association of Greek Industries.
The organisational structure of CRES is composed by the following basic units:
·     Division of Renewable Energy Sources
·     Division of Energy Efficiency
·     Division of Energy Policy & Planning
·     Division for Administration and Finance.

Furthermore, there are three separate offices:
·     Quality Assurance Office
·     Legal Services
·     Development Programmes Office.

Mission of CRES:
CRES operates in two main activity fields:

  • As a Research and Technological Centre for RES/RUE/ES, by developing applied research for the new energy technologies and by technically supporting the market for the penetration and the implementation of these technologies.
  • As the National Energy Centre, working on energy planning and policy for RES and ES and developing the necessary infrastructure to support the implementation of RES&ES investment projects.

CRES has a dynamic presence in Greece and internationally, with innovative research results and a large number of contracts for the Greek Government, the European Commission and Governments of non-European countries, concerning the planning, evaluation and realisation of energy investment projects.
In the framework of its mission, CRES:

  • Is the official Greek government consultant on matters of RES/RUE/ES national policy, strategy and planning;Carries out applied research and develops technologies which are both technically/economically viable and environment-friendly;
  • Organises, supervises and carries out demonstration and pilot projects, to promote the above technologies;
  • Implements commercial RES/RUE/ES applications in relevant energy projects of the private sector, the local authorities, professional associations, etc.;
  • Provides technical services and advice, in the form of specialised know- how and information, to third parties;
  • Disseminates technologies in its areas of expertise and provides reliable information and support to interested organisations and investors;
  • Organises and/or participates in technical and scientific seminars, educational programmes, specialised training courses, meetings, etc.

Over the years, CRES has participated in more than 600 European, national and international projects. These include applied research and development projects, demonstration projects, energy policy studies, development of energy information systems and energy modelling, investment feasibility studies, technical and economic studies, environmental impact assessments, market research as well as activities for the promotion of RES/RUE/ES. Through these projects, CRES co-operates with numerous public and private organisations, at a national, European and international level.
CRES is also the main driving body in the realisation of National Investment Programmes in RES/RUE/ES, making an essential contribution to the evaluation of investment proposals (with its participation in the work of the Intermediate Implementing Body of the Wind Power projects), the technical supervision of these projects and by providing information to investors and decisions makers for the development of RES/RUE/ES policy and investment programmes.
As representative projects and activities of CRES during the past year, is worth mentioning the inauguration of a prototype unit for hydrogen production from wind power at the CRES demonstration wind park at Keratea, the coordination and promotion of an initiative of technology actors in relation to forming a proposal for the Greek Hydrogen island, an agreement to provide scientific and technical support to Solar Cells Hellas SA for the construction of the first Greek vertical production unit for photovoltaic multicrystalline silicon cells at the Patras Industrial Area, the successful development of a quality system and award of an ELOT EN 45011 certification as Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accredited Body under Directive 2003/87/EC from ESYD, as well as a large number of promotional activities on the implementation of the directive on energy performance of buildings and energy saving.