As Greece prepares for its referendum, Takis Grigoriou takes Greece to task for its highly polluting lignite power sector, its ditching of a successful solar program in favour of more coal, the minimal insulation in its buildings that locks in high fuel bills, and Syriza's failure to tackle these issues. The good news? Greece's latest €1.4bn coal project looks like going unfunded.
Instead of phasing out lignite Greece opted to engage in a long battle to preserve the ailing industry while putting an abrupt end to solar energy development by blocking new applications.
Greece stands on the precipice of a great unknown, and what is decided in Sunday's referendum and in the weeks to come will have wide-reaching ramifications - not least on the country's fragile energy economy.
In the years since the global financial crisis, Greek energy - like most of Greek society - has been in a state of flux. A series of missed opportunities and poor decisions have left it in deep trouble.
So here's the story of Greece's post-crisis energy crisis; the rise and fall of solar PV; the rise and fall of energy efficiency; the rise and fall of lignite.
Greek coal fired power plant image via Shutterstock.
Read more at ENN Affiliate, The Ecologist.