The milestone on October 7, 2022, when, according to Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE), electricity from renewables covered 100% of electricity demand for 5 hours for the first time in history, has brought international attention on the Greek energy system. On the occasion of this historical turn of Greece towards renewables, Nikos Mantzaris gave a short interview to the global news network CGTN, and reporter Evaggelos Sypsas.
Commenting on how the energy crisis and the soaring prices, have affected the country’s energy planning, Nikos Mantzaris commented that based on what the official data indicate, the energy crisis accelerated the energy transition and at the same severely challenged the prevailing doctrine in national and European energy policy that fossil gas is the transition fuel. This doctrine has now collapsed and the energy transition means in practice the direct shift from coal to renewables.
Responding to the journalist’s comment that Greece currently surpassed many European countries in the production of renewables, Nikos Mantzaris pointed out that in order to keep the country in this leading path, there are still issues remained to be solved. Specifically, he referred to the immediate need for more storage infrastructure (pumped storage, batteries and thermal storage) or grids. He also referred to the social dimension of the transition and the need part of the revenue from the transition to clean energy to benefit the citizens directly.
The report by Evangellos Sypsas at the global news network CGTN was broadcasted live on November 14, 2022. The video is available at CGTN website.
