Greece increases coal reserves / Lignite extraction and processing increases by 50%

But 12 years later, the war in Ukraine and Russia’s decision to cut off gas to some European countries that refused to pay in rubles has raised concerns about the security and rising cost of gas supplies.

This prompted the Greek government, as well as many European countries, to temporarily set aside plans to close some coal-fired power plants and announce that its extraction and processing would increase by 50% this year and next, he told Reuters. managing director of Megalupolis Mine.

“This year the reserves at the moment we are talking about are 640 thousand tons of lignite in warehouses. Respectively last year in the same period were 450 thousand tons of lignite”said Kostantinos Gidis, Managing Director of Megalopolis Mine.

Before the war in Ukraine Greece imported 46% of its gas from Russia, while the energy gained from burning coal had fallen to 10%, from 53% in 2011. But now the situation has changed and coal reserves have been secured for more than 2 months.

“Reserves have increased to meet demand in the summer season, which may increase due to weather conditions and also due to the uncertainty that exists with natural gas.Said Gidis.

In a change of energy strategy, Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis stated that he will still keep open the two coal mines and the respective power plants, while a new unit can use coal until 2028, without deviating from the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030.

The construction of a 50-megawatt solar park by the Public Electricity Company, just where one of the mines and coal-fired power plants in the vast Megalopolis area was closed, will help avoid 65 million tonnes of carbon monoxide a year. and will produce about 100 gigawatt hours of clean electricity.

Greece inaugurated a large 204-megawatt solar park in Kozan two months ago as part of the country’s transition to green energy, in a bid to double renewable energy sources to 60% of consumption by 2030.

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