
-
US slams sanctions by UK, allies on far-right Israeli ministers
-
Cristina Kirchner: divisive left-winger tainted by fraud
-
Argentine top court upholds ex-president Kirchner's prison sentence
-
Haliburton dismisses injury fears ahead of Thunder clash
-
Treasury chief returns to US as China trade talks ongoing
-
Duckett stars as England complete T20 sweep against West Indies
-
Scheffler seeks back-to-back major wins at formidable Oakmont
-
No panic, but England 'not good enough', says Kane
-
Netherlands thrash Malta, Poland stumble in World Cup qualifying
-
Hope recalled for West Indies Test series against Australia
-
Teen pleads 'not guilty' to shooting Colombian presidential candidate
-
Brazil's Bolsonaro rejects charges in coup trial
-
England stunned by Senegal to put Tuchel under immediate pressure
-
Combs defense seeks to show ex-girlfriend had agency
-
Seven dead as Colombia hit with wave of bombings and gun attacks
-
DeChambeau eyes new LIV deal ahead of US Open defence
-
UK, Australia, Canada, N.Zealand, Norway sanction far-right Israeli ministers
-
US intel chief denounces 'warmongers' after Hiroshima visit
-
US restores some medical research grants, says top Trump official
-
Man City sign Cherki in time for Club World Cup
-
Four dead as Colombia hit with wave of bombings and gun attacks
-
Supporters ask to visit deported Venezuelans in Salvadoran jail
-
Brazil's Bolsonaro takes stand, rejects coup charges
-
McIlroy improves his driver woes as US Open test nears
-
US-China trade talks stretch into evening on second day
-
Combs defense seeks to show ex had agency
-
Former student kills 10 people in Austrian high school shooting
-
Nations call for strong plastics treaty as difficult talks loom
-
Pentagon chief vows to honor US-Australia sub deal
-
UK and allies sanction two far-right Israeli ministers
-
Bonmati, Putellas lead Spain as Hermoso overlooked for Euro 2025
-
Four dead as Colombia hit with wave of bombings, gun attacks
-
Stocks muted as investors track US-China trade talks
-
Romeo wins Dauphine third stage to take yellow
-
Rahm warns to expect 'a lot of unfortunate things' at US Open
-
UK and four nations sanction two far-right Israeli ministers
-
French Senate adopts bill to regulate fast fashion
-
Russell looks forward to Twickenham roar as Bath seek end to Premiership drought
-
Three dead as wave of bombings, gun attacks rocks Colombia
-
World Bank cuts growth forecast on trade tumult
-
War in Gaza 'hurts my whole body', says Man City boss Guardiola
-
Hopes rise on second day of US-China trade talks
-
Ukraine, Russia swap more captured soldiers after nighttime attacks
-
EU proposes lowering Russia oil price cap in new sanctions
-
McIlroy with Rose and Lowry while Scheffler off late at US Open
-
Billy Boston, 90, becomes rugby league's first knight
-
Netflix to invest 1 bn euros in Spain productions to 2029
-
Stocks mixed as investors track US-China trade talks
-
Japan, South Korea celebrate World Cup qualification with big wins
-
South Africa gamble on Mulder at number three in WTC final against Australia

Sunny Greece struggles with solar energy overload
In a field in central Greece that once grew clover and corn, maintenance worker Nikos Zigomitros deftly drives a tractor between rows of solar panels, trimming weeds under a blazing sun.
"Letting them grow too high impairs the panel performance," the 52-year-old explains, wiping sweat from his brow.
Once a centre of agricultural production, the area around Kastron Viotias, some 110 kilometres (70 miles) northwest of Athens, has seen solar parks mushroom over the past 15 years, part of a major renewable energy push in the country.
Greece currently has 16 gigawatts of renewable energy installed, with solar power representing nearly 10 gigawatts, including 2.5 gigawatts that came on line last year.
The rapid growth of solar is similar to other countries in Europe, where it has overtaken coal for electricity production, according to climate think tank Ember.
It estimates renewables have risen to account for nearly half of the EU's electricity production.
Greece did even better: 55 percent of annual consumption was covered by renewables last year, with solar accounting for around 23 percent, according to SPEF, an association which unites local solar power producers.
In 2023, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis predicted that Greece would "soon generate 80 percent of its electricity needs through renewables."
But getting there is proving complicated.
SPEF chairman Stelios Loumakis said that the solar sector has hit a wall because of a combination of factors, including Greece's small size, limited infrastructure and delays in building up energy storage capacity.
- Saturated -
The Greek state approved too many photovoltaic projects over the last five years and the market is saturated, leading to a "severe production surplus" on sunny days, the 56-year-old chemical engineer and energy consultant said.
Greece's national grid operator in May repeatedly ordered thousands of medium-sized operators to shut down during the sunniest hours of the day to avoid overburdening the network and triggering a blackout.
"The trick is to balance supply and demand. If you don't do it well, you get a blackout," said Nikos Mantzaris, a senior policy analyst and partner at the independent civil organisation Green Tank.
In April, a huge blackout of unknown origin crippled the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish government has said two major power fluctuations were recorded in the half-hour before the grid collapse, but the government insisted renewables were not to blame.
"It could be something as mundane as a faulty cable," Mantzaris said.
- Batteries 'crucial' -
To manage the surplus, Greece is building battery storage capacity. But catching up to its solar electricity production will take years.
"The next three years will be crucial," said Stelios Psomas, a policy advisor at HELAPCO, a trade association for Greek companies producing and installing solar panels.
In the meantime, solar panel operators will have to ensure production does not outstrip capacity, thereby limiting their potential earnings.
"Managing high shares of renewables -- especially solar -- requires significant flexibility and storage solutions," said Francesca Andreolli, a senior researcher at ECCO, a climate change think tank in Italy, which faces a similar problem.
"Battery capacity has become a structural necessity for the electricity system, by absorbing excess renewable energy and releasing it when demand rises," she told AFP.
- Farm income -
Mimis Tsakanikas, a 51-year-old farmer in Kastron, readily admits that solar has been good to his family.
The photovoltaic farm they built in 2012 at a cost of 210,000 euros clears at least 55,000 euros a year, far more than he could hope to earn by growing vegetables and watermelons.
"This park sustains my home," he said.
But the father of two also notes that the environmental balance has tipped in his area, with the spread of solar installations now causing concerns about the local microclimate.
Tsakanikas says the area has already experienced temperature rises of up to 4.0 degrees Celsius (7.2 Fahrenheit), which he blames on the abundance of heat-absorbing solar panel parks in the area.
"The microclimate has definitely changed, we haven't seen frost in two years," he told AFP.
"(At this rate) in five years, we'll be cultivating bananas here, like in Crete," he said.
O.Norris--AMWN