A number of old lignite-fired power plants in Greece will need to be used during extreme weather conditions, whether extremely low or high temperatures, at least until 2023.
Greece’s electricity network sufficiency still relies on PPC’s high-polluting and expensive lignite-fired power plants during the periods of extreme weather conditions and will continue to rely on them for at least two years. This was evident during the past week or so when the heatwave pushed electricity consumption to the limit.
According to the existing National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), which is currently under revision, new natural gas-fired power plants offering a total capacity of 1,650 MW, plus Ptolemaida V, a lignite-fired unit that will be converted to a natural gas in 2025 for an eventual capacity of 1,000 MW, will need to be launched by 2030. The new NECP will also stipulate greater RES penetration by 2030 than the existing one. The existing plan expects renewable energy sources to cover 62 % of overall electricity consumption by the end of the decade, while the new NECP will increase this level to 72 %.
