Greece hit record high green energy output last year

Athens: Greece hit a record high in wind, solar and hydroelectric energy output last year, its power grid operator IPTO said on Tuesday, as the Mediterranean country on the southern tip of Europe seeks to become an exporter of green energy to northern countries.

Power produced by renewables and hydroelectric plants accounted for 57% of Greece’s energy mix last year, an 8.5% annual rise from 2022, IPTO said in a statement. The rest came from gas, oil and coal.

After shutting most of the coal-fired power plants it had relied on for decades as part of a plan to phase out coal by 2026, Greece has more than doubled its output from renewables since 2014.

It needs to invest about 30 billion euros to boost green capacity, expand grids and install energy storage units to achieve its target for 44% of energy consumption to come from green energy by 2030 from 22% in 2021, according to a draft plan for climate and energy.

As part of a 10-year project worth 5 billion euros, IPTO plans to expand the grid’s capacity to 29 gigawatt by 2030 from 18 gigawatt today, its Chief Executive Officer Manos Manousakis said in a statement.

Along with expanding interconnections with neighbouring countries, such as Bulgaria, Greece has been promoting the construction of an undersea power link to Egypt and another one to reach Germany via the Adriatic Sea, Slovenia and Austria.