The story. Greece's largest utility has switched on a 2.13 GW solar cluster built on former lignite mines in northern Greece, with the biggest projects sitting on land that once fueled the country's coal plants. The cluster includes the EU's second-largest single-site solar project, and PPC is now adding battery and pumped-hydro storage to the same repurposed mine sites.

The bigger picture. The symbolism — solar panels on old coal pits — matches what's actually happening on Greece's grid. Coal generated just 2.74 TWh in 2025 (Ember), under 5% of the country's electricity, while solar produced 12.92 TWh — making it Greece's second-largest power source after gas. This new cluster alone is expected to generate 3.15 TWh annually (PPC), which would boost Greece's solar output by nearly a quarter. Greece's carbon intensity — how much CO2 each unit of electricity produces — sits at 315 grams per kilowatt-hour (Ember, 2025), above the EU average of 210 but below Germany's 330. That gap with the EU reflects Greece's continued reliance on gas, which leads generation at 22.39 TWh. The storage additions matter here: 148 MW of batteries already built or underway, plus 560 MW of planned pumped-hydro, would help solar displace gas generation rather than just supplement it.

The tension. Greece has largely solved its coal problem. The harder question is whether storage can scale fast enough for solar to start eating into gas's dominant share — otherwise carbon intensity stays stubbornly above the EU average.