Manousakis (ADMIE): Double the system’s “column” for RES absorption

The need for a second transport system to be created in the medium term in order for the country – combined with storage – to be able to absorb the green energy produced in Greece, or to be traded through international interconnections, was highlighted by its president and CEO, Manos Manousakis, in his placement at the “Infrastructure and Networks” conference, in terms of renewable energy sources ( ). “We need to develop the system to a degree that we have not previously predicted,” he said, adding that IPTO is working – together with the State – already intelligent ways of developing the transport system, so that it can meet future requirements for energy from RES. Regarding international connections, Manousakis stressed that they are projects that will help Greece export to large centres of consumption outside the borders the excess of green energy produced by its very rich solar and wind potential. “The greening of the mixture, in order to be stable electrical systems, requires all countries to be much more interconnected,” noted Mr. Manousakis, commenting that “we look at all points of the horizon and try to invest seriously where we judge that the country needs to arrive”. The head of IPTO, mentioned the progress of the electrical interconnection Greece – Cyprus – Israel Great Sea Interconnectedor, an important project with the implementation of IPTO. As he said, the interconnection between Crete and Cyprus is now in construction, and the part of the work between Cyprus and Israel is also ripe. For the second part of the interconnection, Mr. Manousakis noted that in the next few days he will hold a meeting with the Director General of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and the President of the Regulatory Authority of Israel in Cyprus. He also referred to the electricity interconnection between Greece and Egypt GREGY, expressing the belief that the share participation of IPTO in the project, which has been described as mutual interest in the EU, will be completed within the current quarter. For the Saudi Greek Interconnectedion interconnection, he said that there is a very strong interest on the part of Saudi Arabia in moving forward, pointing out that in April the competition for the study of the project will be announced. Asked about the challenges of the energy transition, Mr. Manousakis stressed that we have a “story of success” in RES, since clean energy in the country already reaches 60%, quoting elements of the International Energy Agency, according to which Greece has the third best performance at EU level in the “greening” of its energy mix. However, he noted how to reach 80% of the national target for 2030, there will be technical difficulties as, as he explained, RES are much more difficult to manage than conventional fossil fuel units on which we relied solely in the past. In this context, he stressed that Administrators should be modernised to respond more effectively to the new situation. Concerning the oldness of the system – developed in the 1960s – and the challenges of the climate crisis, Mr. Manousakis said that the IPTO is implementing a rolling programme for the renewal of critical equipment, through a series of investments that make the country’s electrical infrastructure much safer and more reliable. “We have to think completely differently about how to protect the electricity system,” stressed Mr.Manousakis, who then referred to the new law, which now allows administrators to open anti-fire zones under the transport lines that pass through forests or forest areas, in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection and the Fire Department: a measure that will start from Attica and will gradually be extended to other regions of the country. With information from APR-APM