The share of Renewable Energy in the energy mix reached a historic high of 48% in May, according to data released by the Independent Electricity Transmission Manager (ADMEE), another encouraging signal for energy transformation. At the same time, the production of electricity from lignite, which was once the dominant fuel in the energy mix, amounted to only 5%. The highest renewable output was recorded on May 6, when it reached 6.055 MWh at 1 p.m.
According to ADMIEE, for a total of 21 hours in May, 90% of the country’s electricity generation was covered by renewable energy sources. On 6 and 7 May, green energy production surpassed total demand for 7 hours. 54% of the electricity used last month came from clean sources, namely sun, air and water.
The European Commission’s recent report highlights the rapid progress our country has made in adopting renewable energy sources. According to the report, in the year 2022, the new “green” power installed, including wind and photovoltaic parks, amounted to about 1.5 GW. This contributed to the total installed power, including major hydropower plants, amounting to 13.9 GW, representing 60% of the total electricity generation capacity across the country.
Last year, Greece ranked seventh in the world in terms of the percentage of electricity produced from solar and wind energy. The annual growth rate of installed “green” power was around 12% last year, reflecting the growth of a rapidly moving market with a strong interest in investments. It is representative that projects that are either under construction or have received an environmental permit and await approval for connection to the network (i.e. receiving final connection terms) amount to about 30 GW. This capacity exceeds both the goal of the National Energy and Climate Plan for the end of the decade (28 GW) and the reception of the transmission network, based on the investments planned for its expansion in the coming years.
With the rapid development of renewable energy sources (Renewable Energy) in the energy mix, problems have arisen due to the lack of green energy storage infrastructure. This refers to the need to cut the imports of renewable energy in the electricity grid in cases of overproduction of “green” electricity and low demand, thus threatening the stability of the system. Therefore, the focus is shifted to the development of storage units such as batteries and large hydroelectric/pump savings projects.
