The Greek energy market broke 9 records in 2022, signalling a transition to green energy and a change in consumers' attitudes towards self-production from renewable energy sources (RES), in addition to achieving less dependence on Russian natural gas, and in marking Greece's rise as an energy supply gate for Southeastern Europe.
Indicative of higher RES production is that managers of the energy systems and networks take emergency measures during periods like the current one of Easter - when energy demand is low and RES production high - to protect the system's stability. They may even move to lower the amount of available energy from sun and wind.
Some of the energy market's highlights in 2022 are as follows:
- Green production record: According to an analysis The Green Tank (https://thegreentank.gr/2023/01/27/admie-december2022-el/), 2022 is the first year in history during which production of energy from RES and large hydroelectric dams (23667 GWh) exceed that produced by fossil fuels and lignite in total (23534 GWh). Exceeding the latter total was actually achieved before including in the total the large-dam production, which was rather limited. RES and large hydroelectric dams covered 46.7% of electricity demands in 2022, followed by natural gas with 35.4% and lignite with 11%.
Commenting on the results, The Green Tank analyst Nikos Mantzaris told Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), "Official data for 2022 clearly shows that the best defense against the energy crisis, which climaxed last year, is the decisive turn to RES and to cutting back. Any effort to extend the life of fossil fuels, especially in electricity production, threatens Greece's national economy and public interest."
- Installed capacity record: The combined production of RES (wind, sun, and others, exclusive of large hydroelectric dams of the Public Power Corporation), broke the ceiling of 10 Gigawatts (GW) as of November 2022. The RES power generated 10,340 Megawatts (of which 4.570 MW by wind and 4.895 MW by sun) as of December 2022, according to official data by the RES and Source Guarantees Operator, or DAPEEP (https://www.dapeep.gr/miniaio-deltio-eidikoy-logariasmoy-ape-amp-sithya-oktovrios-noemvrios-dekemvrios-2022/).
- Record numbers of photovoltaic panels installed: The historically highest market penetration of new solar-power-producing units reached a record in 2022, as did the capacity of photovoltaic (solar) panels installed, from 3,660 MW at the end of 2021 to 4,570 MW in December 2022, a rise of 1,235 MW, according to DAPEEP. Data from Hellenic Assocation of Photovoltaic Companies on market growth shows that the last record to date was achieved in 2013, with 1,043 new MW, while there were years in the interim that added less than 10 MW (https://helapco.gr/wp-content/uploads/Greek_PV_Market_Snapshot_HELAPCO_23Nov2022-1.pdf).
- European silver medal in solar energy: According to a European Electricity Report by The Green Tank, photovoltaics held a 12.6% slice of power production in 2022, an achievement that places Greece as second only to The Netherlands, at European level (https://ember-climate.org/insights/research/european-electricity-review-2023/).
- Faster RES growth than the EU average: Data provided by the Greek prime minister's consultant on energy issues Nikos Tsafos shows that photovoltaic capacity in Greece during 2018-2022 grew by 110% (more than doubling) against a 92% average in the EU, while the corresponding capacity of wind power grew by 70% over 30% in the EU (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nikos-tsafos_renewables-in-greece-faster-growth-than-activity-7049750265222115328-s9j8).
- Full market penetration (100%): For the first time in the history of the Greek power system, demand over 5 hours on October 7, 2022 was fully covered (100%) by RES, according to the Independent Power Transmission Operator, or IPTO (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ipto-admie_res-cleanenergy-record-activity-6984849204636459008-HI_9).
- Greek citizens turning to green energy: As The Green Tank notes in its Energy Communities Observatory report, the energy crisis forced citizens, businesses, and local communities to use RES to cover their energy needs. They did this either through self-production at individual level (energy offsets), or through collective self-production - that is, energy offsets through Energy Communities (https://thegreentank.gr/community-energy-watch/).
In November 2022, it said, there was a 425% increase in applications for grid linking by Energy Communities, compared to November 2021. In the same time frame, there was an incease of 62.5% (from 499 applications to 811) in the number of demands for related work projects overall, from Energy Communities and other agencies including farmers and legal entities. An even greater rise was noted in applications for self-production through the net metering mechanism, or individual electricity production by citizens and businesses: these project applications rose by 157%, and capacity grew by 199.5% during the last year (November 2021-November 2022).
- A record in cutbacks on natural gas use: Greece exceeded the EU target of reducing natural gas use between August 2022 and March 2023. According to a Green Tank analysis, consumption dropped by 31.8% compared to the same period the year before, and by 20.9% compared to the average of the corresponding eight-month periods over each of the last five years, exceeding by nearly 6 percentage points the -15% (minus 15) target set by the European Commission (https://thegreentank.gr/2023/04/10/gaswatch-mar-el/).
- Greece as natural gas exporter: According to the National Natural Gas Transmission System (DESFA), exports of natural gas from the Greek system almost quadrupled in 2022, rising by 288.68% (https://www.desfa.gr/press-center/press-releases/stoixeia-desfa-gia-thn-katanalwsh-fysikoy-aerioy-to-2022). This was attributed mostly to the transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Revythoussa terminal to the greater region, and especially to Bulgaria, which faced a stop in deliveries by Russia's Gazprom.
Source Amna
