By Ms Natassa Stasinou

 

 

Greece is looking towards a “green” future. For the first time in history, the production of electricity from renewable sources in the country has exceeded the production from natural gas, even without taking into account the contribution of large hydroelectric plants. 

 

Amid structural upheavals in the energy market brought about by the international crisis, our country also became an energy exporter and an energy hub for the Balkan countries, supporting their supply with its Liquefied Natural Gas infrastructure. 

 

Greece aims to absorb 30 billion euros from European funds and private investments to upgrade the electricity network. The country's goal is for "green" energy to represent at least 70% of the energy mix by 2030.

 

According to the latest available data from the energy think tank, Green Tank, for the first 8 months of the year, Renewable Energy Sources (excluding large hydro plants) cumulatively exceeded all other sources of electricity production with 13,238 GWh, leaving natural gas in second place with 13,150 GWh. 

 

The renewable sources lead appeared for the first time in history in July and continued in August. In terms of demand coverage, renewable sources' share was 37.5%. Natural gas followed with a share of 37.2%, while lignite's share was 11.3%. Hydroelectric energy had a share of 8.6%, while the share of net imports was limited to 5.4%. 

 

This trend continued with even greater intensity in Autumn. In fact, a big milestone was reached on October 7. From 11 am to 4 pm, the demand in Greece was 100% covered by renewable energy sources. According to the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) on October 7, production from renewable sources reached a new historical high (3,106 MW) fully covering demand. The investment interest in new green energy units continues unabated, with the country surpassing the 10 GW installed capacity barrier and with an additional 11.5 GW of projects having received Connection Offers from IPTO. 

 

Critical for maintaining this dynamic are the projects to develop and strengthen the electrical networks, through which sufficient space is created for an even greater penetration of renewable sources in the energy mix. 

 

The ten-year investment program of IPTO, with new electrical interconnections at sea and on land, aims to increase the capacity of the Transmission System for green energy units to approximately 28 GW, from 17 GW today. 

 

The increased participation of renewable sources in the energy mix brings significant financial benefit to consumers. As the Hellenic Wind Energy Scientific Association points out the cost of electricity for consumers (producers' compensation price) for October is 94 euros/MWh , 190 euros for lignite plants and 499 euros for natural gas stations.