Gradual growth towards going green in Greece

Greece made headlines last week by reaching a major sustainability milestone – for the first time, the country ran on renewable energy for five hours by using solar, wind and hydroelectric power alone.

This landmark shows Greece is on track for its goal of more than doubling its green energy capacity, with renewables accounting for 70% of the country’s energy budget by 2030. But it also has wider significance.

It demonstrates that renewables can be as reliable as fossil fuels. For us this is important because a key part of Greece’s story of transformation, is about implementing steps to position the country for the needs of tomorrow.

The current unprecedented global energy crisis we are facing has highlighted that we must rely on renewable energy sources to offer the longer-term stable energy pricing citizens want, and work towards greater energy independence for the country.

Greece has strong potential when it comes to sustainable energy, with plenty of sun, wind, and water to utilize. According to the Greece-based environmental think-tank, The Greek Tank, solar, wind and hydro represented 46% of the nation’s power in the first eight months of 2022, up from 42% in the same period in 2021. This growth has accompanied a rise in investments to expand the country’s power grid to facilitate solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy.

There is still a long way to go before we can fully develop our rich renewables potential, but we are making progress at home as well as taking a leading role globally in being a supplier of renewable energy.

Only this week, my colleagues in the Greek National Tourism Organisation unveiled a new sustainability hub for tourists seeking to travel responsibly. It spotlights innovative initiatives helping transform the tourism sector in Greece – like Tilos becoming the first island in the Mediterranean to be 100% energy self-sufficient; Astypalaia entirely shifting to electric vehicles, and Paros aiming to become the first plastic waste-free island in the Mediterranean.

Last week, along with Cyprus and Israel, Greece inaugurated the construction of the EuroAsia Interconnector, the longest and deepest subsea electricity link that will provide Europe with a secure supply of power, generated from green and renewable sources. The 1,200km highway will carry up to 2,000 megawatts of electricity to the bloc, making all EU countries physically connected to the EU electricity grid, ensuring security of supply

Back In April, we also inaugurated a €130 million 205 megawatt solar park in the northern Greek town of Kozani – the largest solar power plant in the Eastern Mediterranean and the biggest system, with bifacial panels, in Europe.  The park supplies power to 75,000 households.

Whilst I have written previously in my blog, that the world cannot immediately shift from carbon intensive energy sources to renewables overnight, I wanted this week to showcase some of the pragmatic actions that Greece is taking to lower energy prices, reduce emissions and meet climate change targets to protect our planet. Sustainable growth and job creation also comes with energy transition and climate action!