“Whatever the energy mix is for us, by 2050 we must be, for the first time in our history – at least since the 20th century – independent from an energy point of view. This will be the ideal energy mix for Greece in 2050″ highlighted the Minister of Environment and Energy, Theodoros Skylakakis, who participated in the “Energy, Green Development” section of the 3rd Financial Conference of “Nautemporiki”.
“Achieving RES targets ahead of schedule”
Mr. Skylakakis said that the plan is for energy and the country’s contribution to limiting climate change, it is already being implemented and in terms of objectives the objectives have been exceeded. “We reached the RES targets earlier than we had calculated and we have such a large greenhouse gas reduction that we can give, sell a few million rights to interested third countries,” he said.
Lower prices due to faster RES progress
The Environment Minister said that meeting RES targets results from a slower increase in electricity demand, while electrification around the world is progressing more slowly than previously thought. “Consequently we will face a reduction in prices due to the faster progress of renewable energy relative to electricity demand. This price reduction will be combined at some point in the next two to three years with a rapid reduction in gas prices”, he highlighted, explaining that this will happen as “a large amount of spare LNG capacity is brought into production internationally”, but also because of the wars that are developing “in two key regions for the energy exploration of fossil fuels: in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine”.
In the context of the above, Mr. Skylakakis predicted that we are facing “a cycle of price cuts that will bring its own difficulties.” “That’s why we recommend much faster storage. Because more RES, with less demand and lower prices mean significant cuts in RES. To avoid these cuts in the bill now before the House, we give freedom, a lot of freedom for high-speed storage and we stopped, with the exception of a Recovery Fund program for businesses, we stopped subsidies for storage. And know that when you limit subsidies, investments happen faster not slower. investment secret. The more you subsidize, the more you delay investments, because investors wait for the subsidy like collectors wait for food”, he added.
The path to national energy independence
As he highlighted, this effort is not short-term, it will last until 2050 and will have the final result of “national energy independence”. “Greece will not become an energy transit hub, but rather a large producer of green energy. And alongside green energy will be developed, it will be a hub at the same time, large industrial investments will also be developed. Because green energy has the characteristic that an important part of the energy by the nature of the stochasticity of the system, whatever you do, will be available either at low prices or will be thrown away. So this gives you the possibility to simultaneously promote, if you have abundant green energy, cheap and available at national level, and significant industrial investments that will complement national energy independence”, he stated.
He also noted that “Greece was a deeply energy-dependent state since the late 19th century”, while now “it is entering the reverse trajectory that will acquire this energy independence with a huge positive macroeconomic impact on its balance, number one, and on the possibility of productive investments in the country, number two”.
The opposition is sliding into an open or covert war against renewable energy
Mr. Skylakakis emphasized that “this effort is very important,” calling on all parties to support it. “I say this because I see, and I close so as not to delay, that the opposition is sliding into an open or covert war against renewable energy sources that are the key to the transition. Because what has happened in the last few months, or the last year or two, is that opposition parties, even those that theoretically support the green transition in practice in any local area, directly or indirectly support those who do not want to develop there, with several prefaces, renewable energy sources. With the end result, as I said jokingly yesterday in Parliament, if I listen to all the questions and all the protests about where RES should not enter our country, in the end we will put them in my head. Because there will be no other place to put them. For everyone, all other parts are inadequate”, he commented.