Renewable energy in Greece
Renewable energy in Greece accounted for 29 percent of its electricity from renewable sources in 2021. By 2030, renewables are expected to have a capacity of 28GW, and exceed 61 percent of Greece's electricity consumption.[1] This is a significant increase from 8% of the country's total energy consumption in 2008.[2] By 2022, Greece occasionally reached 100% renewables for a few hours.[3] The target for 2050 is a capacity of 65GW.[4]
Regulatory conditions
[edit]The increase in renewables is in part because of a changing regulatory environment. In August 2016, a new renewable energy law was approved that aims to further stimulate renewable energy investments by introducing feed-in premiums, competitive tenders, and virtual net metering.[5] Under the new law, the compensation for renewable energy producers will consist of what they receive in the electricity market plus a variable feed-in premium. The latter is the difference between a price depending on market variables (e.g., the system’s marginal price) and a set price decided via a competitive tender.[5] Furthermore, from the beginning of 2017, the new scheme to approve new renewable energy capacity is based on competitive tenders, where the Energy Minister is able to call on a tender for specific capacities and technologies.[5]
Wind power
[edit]Wind power was due to expand[when?] by 352% by 2010 to meet the European target of 20% coverage of energy needs from renewable sources. Previously,[when?] there were 1,028 wind turbines installed throughout Greece and the number was set to reach 2,587 wind turbines before the end of 2010.[6]
According to the Ministry of Environment and Public Works, the system would have a nameplate capacity of 3,372 MW of power from wind alone[when?] compared to 746 MW at the end of 2006.[7] Greece chose to invest primarily to wind power by 77%, while the rest of renewable sources altogether comprise the remaining 23% of production with hydroelectric power being second with 11%.[8][9]
The Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES) is the Greek national entity for the promotion of renewable energy sources, rational use of energy and energy conservation.[10]
Timeline
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Source: Hellenic Wind Energy Association,[11] Statista[12]
Solar power
[edit]The solar energy development in Greece started in 2006 and increased substantially from 2009 because of the high feed-in tariffs introduced and the corresponding regulations for domestic applications of PVs on rooftops.[citation needed] However this mechanism overheated the market creating a big deficit of more than 500 million euros in the Greek "Operator of Electricity Market".[citation needed]
From August 2012 new regulations have been introduced including a temporary tax imposed to all operating PV plants (excluding residential applications), licensing of new PV projects have been put on halt and the feed-in tariffs were drastically reduced.[13]
As of December 2013, the total installed photovoltaic capacity in Greece reached 2,419.2 MWp [14] of which 987.2 MWp were installed in the period between January–September 2013 despite the financial crisis.[15] Greece ranks 5th worldwide with regard to per capita installed PV capacity. It is expected that PV produced energy will cover up to 7% of the country's electricity demand in 2014.[16]
2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total capacity (MWpeak)[17][18][19][20] | 5 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 55 | 205 | 631 | 1,543 | 2,585 | 2,603 | 2,613 | 2,604 | 2,606 | 2,645 | 2,794 | 3,288 | 3,964 | 5,430 | 6,453 |
Watt/capita[19] | 55.8 | 136.7 | 233.7 | 236.8 | 241.7 | 241.7 | 242.3 | 246.5 | 260.6 | 307.9 | 380.0 | 519.8 | 617.8 |
Geothermal energy
[edit]Due to Greece's geographical positioning in the world, they are advantageous when its comes to harnessing geothermal energy at high or low temperatures.[21] High temperature geothermal energy is classified by being above 90 degrees Celsius, and low temperature geothermal energy is when temperatures are between 25 and 90 degrees Celsius.[22] High temperature geothermal energy can be located 1-2 kilometers beneath Santorini, Nisyros, and the Aegean Islands of Milos, while low temperature geothermal energy can be located in regions such as Loutra-Samothrakis, Serres, Chalkidiki, Alexandroupolis, Lesvos, Chios, and Thermopyles.[21] Geothermal energy in Greece accounts for only 0.5% of the country's renewable energy, and is expected to increase over coming years.[23]
Biomass and biofuels
[edit]The amount of biomass that Greece annually produces is estimated to be 2,132,286 tonnes, and this amount comes close to other Mediterranean countries biomass such as Italy and Portugal.[24] Biodiesel is created through such raw materials and around 60% of biodiesel made from Greece originates from oilseeds, 27% comes from used animals fats, frying oils, and vegetable oils, while the last 13% is cotton seeds.[25] Greece's consumption of biofuels is less than 2%, but that percentage is said to increase as years go by because of the large markets and growth potential of biomass and biofuels.[26]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Greece, a green energy laggard in Europe, boosts renewable energy". Aljazeera.com. 2021-12-07.
- ^ "Share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption %". Eurostat. 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ "Good news for Greece as renewables fully power country for first time". euronews. 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Solar PV Exceeds 5.7 GW Cumulative Capacity In Greece, Including 489 MW Added In H1/2023". 16 August 2023.
- ^ a b c Ilias Tsagas (2016-08-17). "Greece Approves New Renewable Energy Law". Renewable Energy World. Archived from the original on 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
- ^ "Greece commits for 2,587 wind turbines". Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
- ^ Rising to the Challenge:the growth of wind power generation in Greece
- ^ Greek Ministry of Environment Archived 2014-11-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Greece Renewable Energy - Europa Fact Sheet Archived 2012-10-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Center For Renewable Energy Sources (CRES)". www.cres.gr. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
- ^ Todorović, Igor (24 January 2024). "Greece breaks records in renewables, energy efficiency in 2023". Balkan Green Energy News. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "Greece: wind power capacity 2023". Statista. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ HELAPCO: The Greek PV Market
- ^ "LAGIE: DAS Monthly Reports" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-24. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
- ^ HELAPCO: Total installed capacity January-September 2013
- ^ HELAPCO: The Greek PV market
- ^ Photovoltaic energy barometer 2007 – EurObserv’ER[permanent dead link] Systèmes solaires Le journal des énergies renouvelables n° 178, p. 49-70, 4/2007
- ^ Photovoltaic energy barometer 2009 – EurObserv’ER[permanent dead link] Systèmes solaires Le journal des énergies renouvelables n° 190, p. 72-102, 3/2009
- ^ a b Photovoltaic energy barometer 2010-2016 – EurObserv’ER
- ^ "All Photovoltaic barometers Archives". EurObserv'ER. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Greece - Renewable Energy | Privacy Shield". www.privacyshield.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ Hanson, Patrick (2019-04-26). "Geothermal Country Overview: Potential in Greece". GeoEnergy Marketing. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ Papachristou, Maria; Arvanitis, Apostolos; Mendrinos, Dimitrios; Dalampakis, Paschalis; Karytsas, Constantine; Andritsos, N. (2019-06-01). "Geothermal Energy Use, Country Update for Greece (2016-2019)".
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(help) - ^ Alatzas, Spyridon; Moustakas, Konstantinos; Malamis, Dimitrios; Vakalis, Stergios (2018). "Biomass Potential from Agricultural Waste for Energetic Utilization in Greece". Energies. 12 (6): 1095. doi:10.3390/en12061095. ISSN 1996-1073.
- ^ Power, Rhett. "Big Opportunity For Greece At World Economic Forum". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ Papadopoulou, E.; Vaitsas, Konstantinos; Fallas, Ioannis; Tsipas, Giorgos; Chrissafis, K.; Bikiaris, D.; Kottaridi, Constantina; Vorgias, Konstantinos E. (2018). "Bio-economy in Greece: Current trends and the road ahead". The Eurobiotech Journal. 2 (3): 137–145. doi:10.2478/ebtj-2018-0018. S2CID 62882595.
Further reading
[edit]- Argenti, Nicolas; Knight, Daniel M. (December 2015). "Sun, wind, and the rebirth of extractive economies: renewable energy investment and metanarratives of crisis in Greece". Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 21 (4). Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Royal Anthropological Institute: 781–802. doi:10.1111/1467-9655.12287. hdl:10023/8405. ISSN 1467-9655. JSTOR 43907903. S2CID 161293322.