RES generation biggest energy-mix contributor for first time ever in 2022

Renewable energy was ranked the country’s biggest electricity producer for the first time ever in 2022, capturing a 41.6 percent share of the energy mix for output totaling 19.7 TWh, data provided by power grid operator IPTO has shown.

Natural gas-fueled generation, previously the country’s biggest producer, was ranked second in 2022 with a 38 percent share of Greece’s energy mix and output of 17.9 TWh. It was followed by lignite, once the country’s leading source of electricity production until it was overtaken by natural gas, with an 11.8 percent share and 5.6 TWh. Hydropower ranked fourth in terms of output in 2022, capturing an 8.5 percent share with output totaling 4 TWh.

Combining the energy-mix shares captured by the RES sector and hydropower adds up to 50.1 percent, meaning these two energy source categories edged past fossil fuels as Greece’s main producer of electricity.

Last year, natural gas-fueled generation fell by just over 4 percent compared to 2021, dropping from a leading energy-mix share of 42.8 percent.

All EU member states have set objectives, on a voluntary basis, to reduce natural gas consumption by 15 percent this winter.

In 2021, the RES sector was ranked second in terms of electricity generation in Greece with a 35.3 percent share of the energy mix followed by lignite, whose share hardly changed. Compared to 2022, hydropower output was slightly higher in 2021, when it had captured a share of approximately 11 percent.