According to Ember, an independent think tank, Greece generated 39.4% of its electricity in 2021 from renewable sources, with the largest being wind. Compared to figures in 2012 which suggested less than 20% for the same statistic, Greece looks on-set to reach their target of 70% for the whole year by 2030.
On Friday 7th October 2022, Greece ran entirely on renewable energy for five hours, using a mix of solar, hydroelectric and wind power. This is the first time in history that demand in the Greek electricity system was met with power from renewable energy sources only. The power output from renewables also set a new record of 3,106 MWh at around 9am local time, according to the country’s independent power transmission operator (IPTO).
Figure 1: Solar Panels in Serres, Greece [1]
A partner at think tank, the Green Tank, said last Friday’s performance was important because “it shows that a 100% renewable electricity system is within reach in Greece, a concept that was considered impossible by most opinion and decision makers in Greece before. The road for the deployment of renewables in Greece during the last decade has been bumpy with many hurdles and periods of stagnation. An electricity system with increasing shares of renewables is technically feasible if it is supported by energy storage technologies and adequate grids. It is also economically preferable by far compared to electricity produced by lignite or gas, even if one includes the cost of storage,” Nikos Mantzaris said [2].
He added: “The bottlenecks for further development of renewables are grid capacity, lack of adequate energy storage capacity and lack of an appropriate spatial plan for the proper siting of renewables.
“Since none of these problems are insurmountable, it all boils down to political will and the resolve of the Greek government to resist intense pressure for the development of new fossil gas infrastructure, instead of scaling up the shift to renewables.”
Conclusions
The renewable energy industry is growing, and this milestone is a good step for Greece as they work towards a renewables-dominated electricity grid. It will be interesting to see if Greece can meet its 2030 target, and the further incorporation of renewable energy into the electricity grids of countries around the world. There are researchers who say that by 2050 we can transition to a world powered entirely by renewables such as wind, solar, hydro etc. A list of countries that meet 90% or more of their average yearly electricity demand with renewable energy can be found here.
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References
[1] J. Blackeye (20 September 2016) on Unsplash.com. Available: https://unsplash.com/photos/KRWfiWPqbq8. [Accessed 17 October 2022].
[2] S. Uddin, “For five hours last week Greece ran entirely on electricity from solar, wind and water,” Sky News, 14 October 2022. [Online]. Available: https://news.sky.com/story/for-five-hours-last-week-greece-ran-entirely-on-electricity-from-solar-wind-and-water-12720353. [Accessed 17 October 2022].
