Max Bearak
When a withering financial crisis forced Greece to rethink its economy a decade ago, it bet big on green power. Since then, Greece’s energy transition has been so swift “it almost feels utopian,” one Greek environmentalist said.
Mountainous ridgelines and arid islands are covered in wind turbines and solar panels that today provide nearly two-thirds of the nation’s electricity.
But now Greece is deliberately pivoting back toward fossil fuels, just not to burn at home. This time it’s betting that it can become one of Europe’s main suppliers of natural gas, with much of it shipped from the United States.
Both Greek and European Union subsidies have funded new pipelines that crisscross the country and connect to a brand-new import terminal that will send gas to a broad swath of Central and Eastern Europe for decades to come.
But now Greece is deliberately pivoting back toward fossil fuels, just not to burn at home. This time it’s betting that it can become one of Europe’s main suppliers of natural gas, with much of it shipped from the United States.
Both Greek and European Union subsidies have funded new pipelines that crisscross the country and connect to a brand-new import terminal that will send gas to a broad swath of Central and Eastern Europe for decades to come.
