With RES curtailments for the first four months of 2024 being more than those for the whole of 2023, it is clear that Greece needs to invest immediately in multidimensional energy storage infrastructure.
This was stressed by Nikos Mantzaris on the TV show “Action24 Now”, hosted by Nikos Ypofantis and Dora Koutrokoi, when asked to comment on the government’s intention to shift the night electricity hours to midday.
He noted that this measure is moving in the right direction, as is that of the mass installation of smart meters, since it will create incentives to increase consumption during the hours when cheap renewable energy production peaks. However, it is not a cure-all for the major problem of RES curtailments that is harming consumers by depriving them of the cheapest source of electricity generation while boosting fossil gas consumption.
For this reason, in addition to shifting the night electricity hours to midday and installing smart meters, electricity storage projects such as batteries and pumped storage (which are also included in the NECP) are absolutely essential, as well as increasing demand – without increasing waste – through the electrification of buildings and the development of electromobility.
Finally, when asked about a possible shift to nuclear energy, Nikos Mantzaris assessed that this is a costly and inadequate step in terms of its contribution to the timely achievement of the 2030 climate targets, expressing the view that it will create far more problems than it will solve.
The interview was aired on Thursday 30 May. You can watch it in Greek here.
