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Greece is a financial mess and many Greeks are beside themselves that Germany is coming to the rescue. History between the two countries aside, Germany, a global leader in solar energy, is considering a path for Greece to emerge out of its fiscal misery. With its economy contracting about five percent this year, a huge lifeline is needed if the country avoids default on all of its loan obligations. Last week Germany’s economy minister Phillip Rösler, his aides, and solar energy business leaders descended on Athens to discuss potential solar projects that in an ideal setting could provide as many as 60,000 Greeks with jobs. With unemployment approaching 15 percent and young Greeks believing their government has failed them, a huge job boost is certainly tantalizing. A country with a sector that already benefits from Greece's sun and warmth (tourism) could benefit from another industry that provides long-term opportunities.
But as The Guardian’s Helena Smith reported last week, the devil is in the details:
But while rampant corruption, a notorious bureaucracy and a weak justice system have also played a major part in keeping foreign firms out of the European Union state, the ruling socialists are also hoping the country's abundant sunshine can attract German renewable energy companies. Among the 60 business leaders traveling with Rösler are several from the alternative energy sector, which, if expanded, could see foreign lenders help kickstart Greece's recession-hit economy along with tourism and food processing.
How would Greece export that energy to Germany? In the U.S., for example, T. Boone Pickens’ dream of gigantic wind power farms withered on the vine in part because of the impracticality of transmitting that energy from the rural prairies to the heavily populated coasts.
Photos are courtesy of Leon Kaye's trip to the Balkans last year.
Leon Kaye is a consultant, writer, and editor of GreenGoPost.com and also contributes to The Guardian Sustainable Business; you can follow him on Twitter. He lives in Silicon Valley.
Leon Kaye has written for 3p since 2010 and become executive editor in 2018. His previous work includes writing for the Guardian as well as other online and print publications. In addition, he's worked in sales executive roles within technology and financial research companies, as well as for a public relations firm, for which he consulted with one of the globe’s leading sustainability initiatives. Currently living in Central California, he’s traveled to 70-plus countries and has lived and worked in South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay.
Leon’s an alum of Fresno State, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the University of Southern California's Marshall Business School. He enjoys traveling abroad as well as exploring California’s Central Coast and the Sierra Nevadas.