Environment and Energy Minister Theodoros Skylakakis on Monday said that the green transition constitutes a major opportunity for Greece to become an energy exporter and is directly connected with the country’s energy security, addressing the conference “Energy Security and Green Growth” organised by the ministry.
Skylakakis underlined that the country has a huge wind and solar potential and the highest potential in the Eastern Mediterranean in terms of wind quality in the field of offshore wind parks, which he described as a national target of high importance. Skylakakis said that offshore wind parks are the key for the parallel development of major interstate interconnections, such as the electricity interconnection between Greece, Cyprus and Israel, which is very close to starting as the cable has been already ordered, as well as the interconnection with Egypt, which continues with direct interconnection to Northern Europe.
As the minister said, the electricity interconnections and the development of the green energy capacity constitute an aspect of energy security, while the second is the liquified natural gas infrastructure that ensure the supply of natural gas for both Greece and the neighbouring countries.
Skylakakis also announced the activation of the Decarbonisation Fund of the islands, which is estimated that has up to 2 billion-euros from the carbon emission rights which will accelerate the green transition of our islands.
On his part, the US Ambassador George Tsunis praised the country’s progress in the field of renewable energy sources, noting that Greece is in the first 10 EU member-states, as well as Greece’s contribution in the supply of the Balkan countries during the energy crisis. He also mentioned EU’s leadership’s failure to foresee the risk of dependence on the Russian natural gas.
The Norwegian Ambassador Lajla Brandt Jakhelln stated that while Norway is a pioneer in the renewable energy sources, it has also increased, at EU’s request, the production of oil and natural gas after the Russian attack against Ukraine. “We face a dilemma and the energy security comes first. There are no easy solutions, we should move ahead with the energy transition without stopping the hydrocarbons’ production,” she said.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
