A series of photovoltaic panels are pictured at a solar park in Kozani, Greece on April 6, 2022. The Greek transmission operator said it had recently reached a standard. new, using only renewable energy for a short time.
Constantine Tsakalidis / Bloomberg / Getty Images
hide captions
switch captions
Constantine Tsakalidis / Bloomberg / Getty Images
A series of photovoltaic panels are pictured at a solar park in Kozani, Greece on April 6, 2022. The Greek transmission operator said it had recently reached a standard. new, using only renewable energy for a short time.
Constantine Tsakalidis / Bloomberg / Getty Images
Greece’s electricity system has reached a new milestone, after running entirely on “clean” renewable energy for the first time.
Renewable energy sources met Greece’s electricity needs in about five hours last Friday, said the Independent Power Transmission Operator, or IPTO, speak. Renewables also announced a new record that day, peaking at 3,106 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
The company, which owns and operates a Greek power transmission system that connects power plants with customers, says the achievement will open the door to making its energy mix greener in the coming years. next year.
Greece depends on a wide range of electricity supplies, none of which account for more than 50%. In August 2022, natural gas and renewable sources, such as wind and solar, account for the most energy. IPTO also derives its electricity from hydroelectricity, as well as from lignite or “brown coal”, one of the dirtiest fossil fuels.
As of 2019, Greece’s total energy consumption per capita (including electricity, oil and other segments) ranks 52nd in the world, with 108 million Btu per person, according to US Energy Information Administration. By that metric, Greece used about a third as much energy as the US, report 304.41 million Btu/person.
The country’s achievement comes after a decade in which dependence on fossil fuels has been gradually reduced, and at the same time the capacity increase of renewable energy and large hydroelectric plants, according to the report. Green tanka non-profit environmental consulting organization based in Greece.
The Greek system is not the only one reaching 100% renewable energy: The California Independent System Operator is much larger, serving about 80% of the state, reported that it reached it shortly in the spring.
Renewables have seen an “unprecedented boom” in recent years, including a 45% increase in capacity by 2020, the International Energy Agency report. In the US this year, profits include wind power go beyond both coal and nuclear power.
