Sustainable energy investments in Hellenic urban areas: Examining modern financial mechanisms

An initiative namely “SAVE or EXOIKONOMO” is implemented in Greece and includes development and implementation of municipal investment plans for sustainable energy development in urban areas. However, a part of the investments' funds is covered by the government and most of the municipalities have serious difficulties in successful participation in this initiative. As a result, further efforts and “new” financial mechanisms are necessary in order to support the implementation of sustainable energy investments in urban areas. The scope of the current paper is to investigate the potential of implementing “JESSICA” as a complementary financing mechanism in the context of the development of sustainable energy investments. In specific, the successful financing of the strategic plan by Rhodes Municipality in Greece for improving energy efficiency is analyzed in this paper. Based on the results, the utilization of JESSICA for financing sustainable energy investments in urban areas of municipal authorities seems to fit well into the overall requirements of JESSICA as a financing mechanism of integrated urban development.