File photo. [InTime News]
Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou spoke on Friday at the Economist conference “Southeast Europe as a Bridge of Cooperation and Growth” in Thessaloniki, highlighting the transformation of the Greek energy system-both in terms of “greening” production and positioning the country as a regional energy hub.
He noted that in 2005, 60% of electricity was generated from lignite, whereas today renewable energy sources account for nearly 60%, with lignite reduced to 9%.
He emphasized that this transformation occurred during a particularly difficult period for the country due to the economic crisis.
Referring to Greece’s role as a regional energy hub, he highlighted investments in cross-border interconnections.
He stated that Greece, in cooperation with Cyprus, is shaping the strategy for the electricity interconnection between the two countries, as well as progress on the connection with Egypt.
He particularly emphasized the importance of the vertical gas corridor – from Greece to Central Europe and Ukraine – for regional prosperity and broader energy transformation, underlining the need for regulatory harmonization along the pipeline to facilitate gas transit.
According to him, Greece can export up to 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, whereas in 2019-2020 exports were zero.