The Green Tank on ERT3’s Synora: Batteries and the challenge of making better use of renewable energy

On Synora, a programme hosted by Kalli Zarali on ERT3, Nikos Mantzaris, lead policy analyst and co-founder of The Green Tank, highlighted delays in the development of energy storage in Greece, comparing the country’s progress with that of Bulgaria.

As he explained, Bulgaria had reached 5.4 GW of installed battery storage capacity by August 2026, while Greece had just 0.7 GW. This gap reflects Bulgaria’s more effective use of Recovery and Resilience Facility funding, stricter implementation deadlines, and faster permitting and project delivery.

Nikos Mantzaris also highlighted the growing volume of renewable electricity being curtailed in Greece. In the first eight months of 2026, curtailments reached 1.9 TWh, up from 1.6 TWh over the same period in 2025. In the first five months of their operation (April-August), batteries prevented only 5% of the renewable energy that would otherwise have been curtailed.

Accelerating energy storage deployment is essential to making better use of low-cost renewable electricity, reducing curtailments, restricting the use of expensive and pollutant fossil gas, and strengthening Greece’s energy independence.

Watch the full interview excerpt from 10/10/2026 [in Greek] here.