Greece’s independent power transmission operator (IPTO) announced on Monday that for at least five hours, all of the country’s electricity came from renewable energy. At 8:00 GMT, it hit a record-breaking peak of 3,106 megawatt hours, as reported by Electrek.
IPTO claims this is a significant turning point for Greek energy because “For the first time in the history of the Greek electricity system, the demand was covered 100% from renewable energy sources. With the interconnections implemented by IPTO on land and sea, new electrical capacity is created for even greater [renewable energy sources] penetration that will make our energy mix even greener in the coming years.”
Greek City Times published a few of the statements included in the IPTO report indicating that “additional electrical capacity is produced for even larger RES [renewable energy sources] penetration, which will make our energy mix even greener in the coming years, with the interconnections developed by IPTO on land and water.”
Reuters also stated that “Greece aims to attract about 30 billion euros in European funds and private investments to upgrade its electricity grid and more than double its green energy capacity to account for at least 70% of its energy mix by 2030. It plans to have 25 gigawatt of installed renewable energy capacity from about 10 gigawatt now but analysts say Athens might reach that target sooner.”
On the other hand, the Greek Reporter reported that renewables accounted for 46% of the country’s total power mix throughout the eight months before August this year. Furthermore, the Greece-based think-tank The Green Tank asserted that the amount increased from 42% during the same period in 2021.
Elisabeth Cremona, an analyst at energy think-tank Ember, stated via Euronews Green, “European countries like Greece are rapidly accelerating away from fossil fuels and towards cheap renewable electricity. The milestone reached by Greece proves that a renewables-dominated electricity grid is within sight,”
“This also clearly demonstrates that the electricity system can be powered by renewables without compromising reliability. But there remains more to do to ensure that renewables overtake fossil fuels in Greece’s power sector across the whole year.”
The program aims to stimulate electricity production from various renewable energy sources, including photovoltaic panels and solar plus storage. By increasing the amount of renewable energy accessible, the nation may replace carbon-intensive energy sources and drastically cut its emissions that contribute to global warming.
