Coal power share falls to historic low in Greece

Coal power production in Greece slumped in the first nine months of 2024, while a new record low was registered in September.

According to official data from the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or, in Greek, Admie) and the Green Tank’s own analysis, September had the most hours of lignite-free production with 463 hours or 64.3%. The previous record was in May: 456 hours or 61.3%.

In absolute terms, last month was also the second lowest for lignite, with production of 159.4 GWh, after just 50.2 GWh in May.

In general, Greece relied on lignite during the hot summer months to cover increased demand. The share of coal plants even reached 15% of the country’s mix on certain days in August. Conversely, they were entirely off the market for several weeks in the spring, drastically reducing their share on an annual scale.

In the first nine months of the year, coal power output came in at 2.34 TWh, a whopping 30% less than the same period of 2023. The system operated without these conventional baseload units for 1,575 hours or 24% of the total.

Skylakakis: Coal power costs EUR 200 per MWh

Minister of Environment and Energy Thodoros Skylakakis said lignite is partly responsible for high energy prices in the country, but that it is expected to change.

“Lignite is much more expensive than renewables. If the production of power from natural gas costs EUR 100 per MWh, then from lignite it costs EUR 200 per MWh. Greece currently uses primarily renewables and natural gas,” he stated.

Lignite exit by 2028

Greece’s revised National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) calls for a complete exit from lignite by 2028. According to the schedule, all units will be taken offline by 2025 except for the new Ptolemaida 5 facility, which would continue for a few more years.

Public Power Corporation (PPC), its owner, has different expectations. The group has said that it plans to decommission Ptolemaida 5 by 2026, meaning an earlier coal exit for the country as a whole.

It remains to be seen whether there will be changes in the final version of the NECP, to be submitted to the European Commission within a few weeks.