“Greece is in favor of international law and respect for agreements. Our energy relations with Azerbaijan have never been affected by political issues so far and I hope the same will be true in the future.”

This statement was made by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Thodoros Skylakakis, in response to the intervention of the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Greece, Anar Huseinov, at the Economist conference. Mr. Huseinov reminded that Azeri gas covers 20-25% of our country’s natural gas consumption, added that Azerbaijan does not feel supported by European partners in geopolitical issues and that its contribution to energy supply is not always appreciated while he raised the question of how the countries of Europe will deal with a potential disruption in supply.

After pointing out the country’s firm position in favor of international law, Mr. Skylakakis added that Greece is a transit country, which means that the gas also goes to other countries, which does not only apply to Azerbaijan’s gas. He noted that soon we will have a new liquefied gas station that can be used by other gas producing countries as well as that the possibilities for importing liquefied gas as well as pipeline gas exceed the needs of our country and this is the reason we can help other Countries. He described the cooperation with Azerbaijan as excellent.

In the context of the conference, Mr. Skylakakis stated that the energy strategy of our country includes the green transition as quickly as possible, “based on our competitive advantage in renewable sources and our geopolitical position”. He made special reference to offshore wind farms stressing that they represent a great opportunity for the country not only because of the competitive advantage but also because we have the ability to create a supply chain with high domestic added value. The minister also emphasized that he will participate in the COP28 international climate conference that will take place in Dubai at the end of the month, but he noted that in order to succeed in the effort, Europe is not enough, but the rest of the world must also follow and that the elections in USA is a risk factor for the country’s climate policy.

The director general of Gas Infrastructure Europe, Boyana Achovski said that the target of filling European natural gas storages was reached earlier (in August instead of October) and indicated that in the future the role of hydrogen transported by existing natural gas infrastructure will be important. gas.

The CEO of Eni Plenitude, Stefano Goberti, referred to the progress of electrification and estimated that the penetration of electric vehicles will increase as the automotive industry invests in them, their costs decrease over time and charging infrastructures are developed at the same time.

The managing director of HELLENiQ Renewables Sotiris Kapellos pointed out that the target of 80% penetration of RES in the electricity system in 2030 is achievable, as long as the challenges associated with the development of energy storage are addressed in order to minimize the cuts of “green” generation but also with the fact that the new RES units have a greater business risk than the older ones that operate with guaranteed energy absorption prices.

The president of the Hellenic Wind Energy Scientific Association (ELETAEN) Panagiotis Ladakakos also stated that the 80% target will not be reached automatically but requires the optimal design of the system with the right mix of technologies (wind turbines, photovoltaics, storage with batteries, pumped storage and hydrogen) in order to avoid the problems of grid congestion and cuts.