There are very few countries that can boast of providing only (or almost) renewable energy for themselves, and of course none of them are around us. Norway or Iceland would be the closest cases. But a few days ago Greece was pleasantly surprised by announcing that it met all its electricity needs with clean energy for a few hours.
And this country has succeeded in taking a giant step towards its independence from fossil fuels with a new renewable energy production record. So last Friday October 7 Greece met more than 100% of its energy needs with solar and wind alone, that is, without even needing to add hydraulics during a total of five hoursthe special portal reports The Green Tank.
From January to August this year, the main source of energy for Greeks was the combination of solar and wind, which generated a total of 13,238 GWh (37.5%) and over natural gas (37.2%). On the other hand, electricity imports have been a minimum of 1,912 GWh since 2013. It fell 73.1% less compared to 2020 and 45.8% less compared to 2021. Greece was a net exporter of electricity for three months in 2022.
Add to this all renewable energies in Greece, including hydropower, and the result is about to surpass fossil fuels in the entire year’s savings. slowly Greece marches towards energy independence, but not for a few hours, all year round. The premise shows that 100% renewable generation is possible, properly sized if the necessary investment is made, and support systems are in place.
Spain still far from energy independence
Spain as a whole has yet to reach a similar milestone in the electricity system as a whole, but there are a few isolated precedents, the portal Forococheselectricos.com reports. At 16:00 on Saturday, April 2, renewable energy generation exceeded energy demand by more than 300 MWh, with solar energy making the largest contribution to the system. By the way, at the beginning of September photovoltaic solar power has already exceeded the entire production of 2021.
Another great achievement we can mention is,El Hierro Canary Island Completely independent of fossil fuels for 24 daysfrom 13 July to 7 August 2019. The Gorona del Viento hydro-wind power plant with an installed capacity of 11.5 MW was sufficient on its own. Independence hours become days and from there add the same portal to 100%.
However, there is much to be done. Data from the latest REE monthly bulletin reminds us that the main source of individual generation in August was gas combined cycles (30.9%), although less than e.l Renewable energies as a whole, 38.8%however, renewable energy generation increased by 3.1% compared to August 2021. The final asking price on the peninsula was 254.94 euro/MWh, more than double last year.
Reference articles: https://thegreentank.gr/en/2022/09/27/admie-august2022-en/
https://forococheselectricos.com/2022/10/greece-achieved-supply-100-electrical-network-renewable-energies.html
……
Environment department contact address:[email protected]