In a Europe short of energy, coal gets an encore in Greece

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KOZANI, Greece – Controlled explosions and the noise of giant excavators picking up explosive rocks are back in routine at Greece’s largest coal mine. Coal production increases near Kozani in northern Greece The war in Ukraine has forced many European countries to reconsider their energy supply.

Long considered an ancient fuel in Europe, coal now helps the continent maintain and cope with its energy supply. The sharp rise in natural gas prices caused by the war.

According to the EU Energy Directorate, coal-based electricity in the EU increased by 19% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2021, growing faster than any other energy source as prevailing tensions rise. -employment between Russia and Ukraine. at the end of February.

Russian gas accounted for more than 40% of total gas consumption in the EU last year; therefore, with rising prices and shrinking supply in many countries, the bloc was looking for alternatives. Russia also accounted for 27% of EU oil imports and 46% of coal imports.

The crisis has caught Greece at a difficult time in its transition phase.

For decades the country has relied on local mining of lignite, low-quality, high-emission coal, but has recently stepped up plans to shut down old power plants, promising that renewable energy will be an important energy source for the Greece by 2030. At the moment. Renewable energy sources make up about one third of the country’s energy mix.

The newly completed solar park, one of the largest in Europe, is just a half-hour drive from the largest open-cast lignite mine in the country, near the northern town of Kozani.

Upon opening the new solar plant, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a 50% increase in lignite production by 2024 to create reserves. Plans for the modernization of coal-fired power plants have been blocked.

“Not only Greece, but all European countries are making minor changes to their energy transition programs in the short term – and I in the short term -” Mitsotakis said at the April 6 event. he said.

Greek officials say the country is naturally susceptible to the development of solar and wind energy. This EU-funded battery technology test seeks to get their islands out of expensive and polluting local diesel plants.

The Kozani Mine is nearly nine times the size of New York’s JFK Airport: a submerged black pool surrounded by forests and poppy fields. The excavators use gripper wheels located higher up next to the house to load the coal onto a long conveyor belt lane.

Speaking to the factory and the traditional patron of miners, firefighters and other people in the workplace, St. “This was the heart of Greek power generation,” said Anthony Nikou, the director of the mine, which is located near the Barbara Orthodox Christian Church. .

Niko sees the end of the coal era in Greece as inevitable, a belief shared by the rest of the EU by his own politicians and many experts who argue that short-term coal yield will only be a pillar until countries step up. renewable energy and electricity grids will increase.

“It’s understandable to try not to get cold next winter, but it’s a very short-term deal,” said Elif Gündüzüel, senior energy policy coordinator at the European Climate Action Network, a Brussels-based environmental campaign coalition. . Groups.

He argues that the money needed to modernize the coal industry and seek out new areas no longer attracts investors.

The postwar integration of Western Europe was largely driven by coal – the European Coal and Steel Community, founded in 1951, which eventually became the European Union – but EU consumption was long overshadowed by other countries. China uses more coal than the rest of the world combined.

Over the past 30 years, coal consumption in the EU has fallen by more than 60%, accelerating since 2018.

How it achieves its regulatory and international climate goals in Europe is closely followed by other industrial powers and how it has managed to save the local economy from the demise of coal mining communities.

Officially called the West Macedonia Lignite Center, the Kozani mine has dropped from 6,000 workers in the 1990s to 1,500 today. The 400-hectare (1,000-hectare) solar park rents only 20.

The Greek Energy Workers’ Union is pushing the government to make coal more durable instead of using the now more expensive gas imports.

“Obviously, this transition has not happened under fair conditions, but in a way that supports the interests of natural gas,” union leader George Adamidis said in an interview with AP. “We have decided to move away from Russian natural gas, but importing liquefied natural gas from the United States and elsewhere also involves a polluting process, so it does not meet our climate goals.

The Union wants to extend the life of modern coal-fired power plants by around five years by 2035 and increase its current share of electricity generation from 15% to around 25%.

The government has said that money from the EU Just Transition Fund, which was set up to help coal mining communities and other people affected by the transition, will be used to help regions like Kozani through a number of schemes, including remediation. of mined land.

But Pavlos Deligianis, a retired miner, urged the authorities to extend the transition period and grant tax breaks and other financial incentives to alternative industries to invest and create jobs in the region.

“We all know coal has an expiration date,” he said. “Our young people are leaving the city… If you want a smooth transition, think about the future before closing the present. It did not happen here, we did the opposite and we are not ready for a green transition.

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Costa Contouris, Thessaloniki, Greece.

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The Associated Press receives climate and environmental protection from various private organizations. Find out more about the AP Climate Initiative here. Only AP is responsible for all content.

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Source: Washington Post

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