Commenting on PPC’s recent announcements about the planned projects in Western Macedonia, he said that the color of the transition unfortunately cannot be characterized as “green”. This is because in addition to investments in renewables and electricity storage (batteries and pumped hydro energy storage), it also includes significant new investments in fossil gas. He reminded that the latter is obviously a fossil fuel and in fact now has the most significant share in the greenhouse gas emissions of the electricity sector in Greece, while at the same time it is largely responsible for the high electricity prices the country is recording.
In response to a question regarding the progress of phasing out lignite in the Western Balkans, he commented that in addition to the accession negotiations of the countries in the region that are incentivizing the “greening” of electricity generation, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which comes into operation in 2026 will also play a decisive role. Thus, if the Western Balkans make the mistake of insisting on lignite, they will lose significant revenue from electricity exports to the European Union. Hence, there is a possibility that the electricity market itself will force the countries in the W. Balkans to make their transition away from lignite much earlier than is apparent in their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).
He also highlighted the large gap between the announcements of new green investments in the Western Balkans and the actual pace of their implementation. Specifically, while up to July 2024, 23 GW of wind and photovoltaic systems had been announced in the region, the installed capacity in the same year was only 1.5 GW; the relative share in the electricity generation mix was only 6%, while only 1.3 GW of such projects (out of the 23 GW that have been announced) were under construction.
Therefore, especially with so many conflicting developments in the region’s energy sector, there is still great uncertainty about the energy policy that will ultimately arise victorious. How long will the Western Balkans insist on lignite? Will the proponents of a massive shift from lignite to gas conquer, or will reason prevail and the Western Balkans finally turn to RES for the benefit of both the climate and the economy?
You can watch Nikos Mantzaris’ interview with Kalli Zarali for the ERT3 show “Borders” on our YouTube channel.