For the first time in 2024, monthly electricity production from RES (1,780 GWh) was lower than in 2023 (1,926 GWh). However, for the first nine months of 2024, clean energy met more than half of demand (50.2%), despite the fact that in the same period 673 GWh were curtailed, an amount equal to 3.4% of renewable energy production. September 2024 was the month with the most hours ever without any lignite plant in operation (463 hours or 64.3% of the total). Demand grew 6% in the first nine months of 2024.
This analysis concerns electricity production across the whole territory of Greece and is based on the latest available monthly data from the Independent Power Transmission Operator (August 2024) for the interconnected grid and from the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO) for the non-interconnected islands (July 2024). In addition, we use the most recent data from HEDNO for low and medium voltage, as well as for the installed capacity of self-production systems (August 2024). The data from DAPEEP’s Renewable Energy Special Account bulletin up to June 2024 are used to calculate more accurately CHP production at low and medium voltage, as well as for the PV utilization factors needed to estimate self-production. You can read in more detail about our methodology here.
In the first nine months of 2024, renewables (excluding large hydro) maintained their lead in the electricity mix with a production of 19,060 GWh, but lagged behind the cumulative production of the three fossil fuels (fossil gas, lignite and oil) by 1,928 GWh. This was caused by the increased contribution of gas between July and September, reversing the results of the semester when renewables had outperformed the cumulative fossil production.
Fossil gas was second (15,496 GWh), just 564 GWh away from the historic high of the first nine months of 2021 (16,060 GWh), marking a 29.5% increase compared to the first nine months of 2023.
With 3,168 GWh, oil on non-interconnected islands was third, while large hydro (2,930 GWh) fell to the fourth place. Lignite dropped to fifth place (2,930 GWh), recording an all-time low production in the first nine months of the year. The smallest contribution to meeting demand in the first nine months of 2024 came from net imports (809 GWh), which were the lowest in the last decade for this period, well off the previous low of 2022 (2,539 GWh).
The large increases of fossil gas (+3,526 GWh) and renewables (+3,086 GWh), as well as the much smaller increases of oil (+265 GWh) and large hydro (+111 GWh) in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, offset the collapse in net imports (-3,588 GWh), the decline in lignite electricity production (-964 GWh) and the increase in demand (+2,435 GWh).
The corresponding percentage changes in the first nine months of 2024, compared to 2023, were:
- Lignite: -29.3%
- Fossil gas: +29.5%
- Renewables: +19.3%
- Large hydro: +9.1%
- Net imports: -81.6%
- Oil: +9.1%
- Demand: +5.9%
In the first nine months of 2024, clean energy (renewables and large hydro) was the highest of the decade with 21,990 GWh, up 17% compared to the same period in 2023 (18,792 GWh). In fact, it surpassed by 1,002 GWh the electricity production from the three fossil fuels combined (20,988 GWh), which in turn grew by a smaller 15.6% over the same period. The difference of 1,002 GWh between clean energy and fossil fuels in the first nine months widened in 2024 compared to 2023, when clean energy exceeded fossil fuels for the first time by 505 GWh.
Clean energy met more than half of demand (50.2%) in the first nine months of the year, while its share of electricity production was even higher at 51.2%. Renewables (mainly wind and solar) dominated in meeting demand with 43.5%, while large hydro covered 6.7% of demand.
Fossil gas led the way among fossil fuels in meeting demand with a share of 35.4%, followed by oil with 7.2% and finally lignite with 5.3%. Net imports covered just 1.9% of demand, the lowest share of the last decade.
The share of renewables would have been even higher if there were no curtailments. According to the forecasts of the consolidated planning process published daily by IPTO, a total of 673 GWh of RES were curtailed in the first nine months of 2024. April was the month with the most curtailments (259 GWh) compared to the other months of the year and to the total curtailments in 2023 (228 GWh). 49 GWh were curtailed in March,122 GWh in May, 64 GWh in June, 33 GWh in July, 37 GWh in August and 108 GWh in September.
According to the same IPTO forecasts, September 29th saw the highest RES curtailments of the month, totaling 17.6 GWh. However, this amount is considerably lower than the peak of the year that was recorded on 28 April (41.7 GWh).
Avoiding these curtailments in the first nine months of the year could further reduce electricity imports into the country or the use of fossil gas, thus contributing to lower prices in the wholesale electricity market.
In September 2024:
- The monthly electricity production from lignite (157 GWh) was the second lowest historically after May 2024 (50 GWh). This was despite increased lignite use in the first days of September, which led to very high prices in the wholesale electricity market.
- Greece had the most hours ever without any lignite plant in operation during a single month (463 hours or 64.3% of all hours in September).
- For the first time since the beginning of the year, monthly power generation from renewables (1,780 GWh) was lower than the previous year (1,926 GWh). The main reason for this was a 45.7% decrease in wind generation.
- Monthly demand (4,626 GWh) was the highest in the last 5 years for the month of September.
Electricity consumption in the first nine months of 2024 (43,790 GWh) increased by 5.9% compared to the same period of the previous year. There was also an increase of 2.2% compared to the average of the last five years (2019-2023), after having occurred for the first time in the first half of 2024.
