The Green Tank’s latest analyses on fossil gas consumption and electricity production show that Greece increasingly relies on renewable energy sources with a significant reduction in fossil gas consumption. Commenting on these data in his short op-ed “One-way green transition” for Naftermporiki’s N-Society, Nikos Mantzaris explains that bigger development of renewables combined with reduction in gas consumption is now a reality that marks the shift of the country’s energy model away from fossil gas and lignite.
Pointing out the instrumentalization of the energy crisis in the context of debate between political parties, he calls on the country’s political forces to develop a single strategy for the development of renewables with adequate grids and electricity storage infrastructure, and a sound special spatial framework for their installation.
Drawing on this opinion article, Nikos Mantzaris was invited to give an interview at Naftemporiki TV, responding to whether the green transition is an immediate solution to the challenges of the energy crisis. He explained that the green transition is not only a long-term plan, but it is already helping to contain the energy prices that consumers are currently being asked to pay. He stressed that the existing technology offers all the necessary means for the immediate development of renewable energy and that investing in it is now a matter of policy. Finally, contrary to the opinion that citizens are mostly sceptical about renewables, the growing interest in self-production from renewables and the establishment of energy communities shows that citizens are already actively involved in the energy transition and that dialogue with local communities will significantly help to create a more democratic green energy model.
The op-ed was published in Naftemporiki’s N-Society on Tuesday December 6, 2022.
The interview was given at Naftemporiki TV on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. The extract is available on Youtube here and here.
