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4 weeks ago
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Source: AFP
In a tract successful cardinal Greece that erstwhile grew clover and corn, attraction idiosyncratic Nikos Zigomitros deftly drives a tractor betwixt rows of star panels, trimming weeds nether a blazing sun.
"Letting them turn excessively precocious impairs the sheet performance," the 52-year-old explains, wiping sweat from his brow.
Once a centre of cultivation production, the country astir Kastron Viotias, immoderate 110 kilometres (70 miles) northwest of Athens, has seen star parks mushroom implicit the past 15 years, portion of a large renewable energy propulsion successful the country.
Greece presently has 16 gigawatts of renewable vigor installed, with star powerfulness representing astir 10 gigawatts, including 2.5 gigawatts that came connected enactment past year.
The accelerated maturation of star is akin to different countries successful Europe, wherever it has overtaken ember for energy production, according to clime deliberation vessel Ember.
It estimates renewables person risen to relationship for astir fractional of the EU's energy production.
Greece did adjacent better: 55 percent of yearly depletion was covered by renewables past year, with star accounting for astir 23 percent, according to SPEF, an relation which unites section star powerfulness producers.
In 2023, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis predicted that Greece would "soon make 80 percent of its energy needs done renewables."
But getting determination is proving complicated.
SPEF president Stelios Loumakis said that the star assemblage has deed a partition due to the fact that of a operation of factors, including Greece's tiny size, constricted infrastructure and delays successful gathering up vigor retention capacity.
Saturated
The Greek authorities approved excessively galore photovoltaic projects implicit the past 5 years and the marketplace is saturated, starring to a "severe accumulation surplus" connected sunny days, the 56-year-old chemic technologist and vigor advisor said.
Source: AFP
Greece's nationalist grid relation successful May repeatedly ordered thousands of medium-sized operators to unopen down during the sunniest hours of the time to debar overburdening the web and triggering a blackout.
"The instrumentality is to equilibrium proviso and demand. If you don't bash it well, you get a blackout," said Nikos Mantzaris, a elder argumentation expert and spouse astatine the autarkic civilian organisation Green Tank.
In April, a immense blackout of chartless root crippled the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish authorities has said 2 large powerfulness fluctuations were recorded successful the half-hour earlier the grid collapse, but the authorities insisted renewables were not to blame.
"It could beryllium thing arsenic mundane arsenic a faulty cable," Mantzaris said.
Batteries 'crucial'
To negociate the surplus, Greece is gathering artillery retention capacity. But catching up to its star energy accumulation volition instrumentality years.
Source: AFP
"The adjacent 3 years volition beryllium crucial," said Stelios Psomas, a argumentation advisor astatine HELAPCO, a commercialized relation for Greek companies producing and installing star panels.
In the meantime, star sheet operators volition person to guarantee accumulation does not outstrip capacity, thereby limiting their imaginable earnings.
"Managing precocious shares of renewables -- particularly star -- requires important flexibility and retention solutions," said Francesca Andreolli, a elder researcher astatine ECCO, a clime alteration deliberation vessel successful Italy, which faces a akin problem.
"Battery capableness has go a structural necessity for the energy system, by absorbing excess renewable vigor and releasing it erstwhile request rises," she told AFP.
Farm income
Mimis Tsakanikas, a 51-year-old husbandman successful Kastron, readily admits that star has been bully to his family.
Source: AFP
The photovoltaic workplace they built successful 2012 astatine a outgo of 210,000 euros clears astatine slightest 55,000 euros a year, acold much than helium could anticipation to gain by increasing vegetables and watermelons.
"This parkland sustains my home," helium said.
But the begetter of 2 besides notes that the biology equilibrium has tipped successful his area, with the dispersed of star installations present causing concerns astir the section microclimate.
Tsakanikas says the country has already experienced somesthesia rises of up to 4.0 degrees Celsius (7.2 Fahrenheit), which helium blames connected the abundance of heat-absorbing star sheet parks successful the area.
"The microclimate has decidedly changed, we haven't seen frost successful 2 years," helium told AFP.
"(At this rate) successful 5 years, we'll beryllium cultivating bananas here, similar successful Crete," helium said.
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Source: AFP
