The energy system of Greece : A Techno-economic and Environmental Approach

Abstract: The human effort to continuously improve their standard of living in conjunction with the rapid growth of world‟s population, the reckless and the wasteful misuse of energy reserves threaten to lead mankind in an energy deadlock. In an effort to realize the size of the waste of our planet‟s available energy resources, we only need to point out that people have spent the last century stocks of raw materials and energy, which were saved and produced during the lifetime of our planet. The management of the energy systems in a proper and best way is considered to be essential worldwide. In this project the energy system of Greece is studied. The power production systems used in different sectors of life were analyzed. The study emphasized in the electricity production from different sources. Lignite electricity power plants were first introduced in the country followed by the gas power plants and Renewable Energy Sources (RES) installations. The deregulation of electricity market formed the new energy scenery of the country. Electricity grid reinforcements with smart metering and energy storage proved to be necessary in order the RES to be fully penetrated to the national grid, so as Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions to be reduced as much as possible. The further expansion of RES could help to cope with the barriers of the country‟s electrification due to singularity of hundred islands that are not yet interconnected to the mainland. Analytical theory methods and numerical skills used to derive the appropriate data and results. Installed capacity of the power sources was verified as well as costs and polluted emissions per unit and type of sources involved. Weaknesses and abnormalities of the electric system were pointed out. Proved gains from the RES use were verified for ensuring the sustainability of the country‟s energy system