Greek Ministry of Energy, the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE), energy producers and other involved parties are currently reviewing plans on the country’s fuel mix and energy infrastructure in the coming decades, until it achieves full independence from fossil fuel and transitions to renewable energy sources by 2050.
Greece is trying to adjust to short-term strategy of returning to coal in order to ensure its supply sufficiency, being ready to fully reopen its lignite- fired units and the oil ones in Crete, as well as switching the operation of five gas-powered plants to diesel.
Without questioning the coal phase-out program, there are now talks to revise its timetable. RAE appears to have proposed that lignite stays in the energy mix until it is replaced by RES units and sufficient battery storage capacity, so that Greece does not have to depend on imported gas. It also reviews any new gas infrastructure application based on its amortization time and the capacity of hydrogen or biogas transfer.
RAE has also expressed its disagreement with the expansion of natural gas to new areas in the country, presenting studies showing heat pumps as more cost-efficient.
For the first time Greece is also working toward adding nuclear energy to electricity production mix. Namely, Greek electricity producers have entered talks with Bulgaria on purchasing part of the output from new nuclear units, which Bulgaria is planning to build. The long-term contracts for electricity generated by nuclear power plants will secure Greece fixed energy prices, shielding it from market fluctuations.
