Greece: “Mild” winter for energy bills – The historic opportunity for autonomy

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Wind farms, photovoltaic parks, geothermal and hydrogen utilization systems: in recent years, Greece has dramatically increased the production of energy from Renewable Sources, to the point that their production exceeds the absorption capacity of the grid.

Almost half of the country’s electricity consumption needs are now covered by Renewable Energy Sources.

The launch of RES has beneficial effects on the energy autonomy of the country, but also on the bills paid by households.

The connection of 2.1GW of new RES to the Electricity Distribution Network created a benefit for the market and the Greek consumer amounting to approximately 700 million euros during the energy crisissimultaneously reducing natural gas imports for power generation as well as the cost of CO2 emission rights with a total estimated benefit of €1.2 billion, as stated by the president of DEDDIE Anastasios Manos at the Athens Investment Forum.

This winter is expected to be milder – “Knife” in subsidies

The Greek government estimates that this winter will be milder in terms of energy costs and the Ministry of Energy has announced support only for vulnerable households.

At the same time, Greece is planning new initiatives with the aim of diversifying the available RES sources, but also to be at the forefront of the green transition in Europe. One of these initiatives is the Green HiPo green hydrogen project in Western Macedonia.

Offshore Wind Farms: The “treasure” of the Aegean

Offshore wind farms are also a big bet for the country’s energy transition.

As market players say “Greece is sitting on a treasure”, since the winds in the Aegean can provide it with stable and continuous energy production.

Along with the announcement of the first six areas that will host offshore wind farms, the authorities launched a campaign to inform citizens about the benefits of wind energy in order to prevent possible backlash.

First Offshore Wind Farms in:

• eastern Crete
• Rose
• central Aegean
• Euboea
• Overseas islands
• Patraiko Gulf

The saturated network and the historic opportunity

The surge in renewable energy production has created the following paradox: it is common for the country to produce more electricity than it can consume.

The electricity grid is saturated and the international interconnections that could give way to exports are not enough. This fact “brakes” the development of new projects, such as for example the greater spread of photovoltaics on roofs.

In any case, Greece is facing a historic opportunity: for the first time it has the possibility to develop into an energy exporter, since it has abundant natural resources required for the green transition, i.e. sun and wind, while its geopolitical position favors the connections between producing countries in North Africa and Asia and consuming countries in Central and Northern Europe.