The 29th National Energy Conference “Energy and Development 2025”, which was convened by the Institute of Energy of South East Europe (IENE) on November 11 - 12, at the OTE Academy in Athens, proved a great success attracting approximately 250 participants. For another year, this major annual conference of IENE, which is regarded as an institution for the Greek energy community, drew the interest of a large number of executives from home and abroad. For more information on the programme and speakers, see here.
Highlighting the central issues of the energy sector at national, regional and global levels, this year’s “Energy and Development” Conference focused on market operation as well as on emerging geopolitical issues.
Greece’s Ministry of Environment and Energy (MEER) was represented by the Secretary General for Energy and Mineral Resources, Ms. Despina Paliarouta, who, in her opening remarks, stressed the importance which the government is attaching to energy issues.
Ms. Despoina Paliarouta, Secretary General for Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Environment and Energy (MEER).
Ms. Maria Damanaki, Independent Advisor on Climate – Oceans / Former European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Leading institutional officials and prominent representatives of the energy sector and industry in general, as well as renowned scientists and experts participated as speakers in the proceedings of the 29th "Energy and Development".
Some of the most eminent speakers of the Conference included: Ms. Maria Damanaki (Independent Advisor on Climate – Oceans / Former European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries), Prof. Yannis Maniatis (MEP, Vice President of the S&D Group, former Minister of Environment, Energy & Climate Change), Dr. Nikolas E. Farantouris, (Member of the European Parlaiment, The Left, Jean Monnet Professor, University of Piraeus, Greece), Mr. Artur Lorkowski (Director, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria), Dr. Dimitra Apostolopoulou (Research Fellow, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, UK), Mr. Faidon Papadimoulis (Clean Energy & Technology Modeller, Energy Technology Policy Division, International Energy Agency - IEA, Paris), Nikos Vettas (General Director, Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research -IOBE, and Professor, Athens University of Economics and Business -AUEB), Mr. Cosmin Ghita (CEO, Nuclearelectrica, Romania), Dr. Michalis Thomadakis, (Strategy & Development Division Director, DESFA), Mr. Dimitrios Fourlaris (Vice President of Energy Sector, Regulatory Authority for Energy, Waste, and Water - RAAEY), Ms. Theodora Georgiev (CEO, ICGB, Sofia, Bulgaria), Mr. Nikolaos Satras (Head of Natural Gas Business Unit, Motor Oil), Mr. Dimosthenis Voivontas (Chief Executive Officer, Operator of Renewable Energy Sources & Guarantees of Origin, DAPEEP S.A.), Mr. Antonis Kontoleon (President of the Board of the Hellenic Union of Industrial Consumers of Energy - UNICEN, Greece), Mr. Ioannis Giannakopoulos (Chief Executive Director Integrated Utility, Metlen Energy & Metals), Prof. Pandelis Biskas (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - AUTH, Chairman of IENE Scientific Council) , Ms. Rania Ekaterinari (President of SEV Executive Committee & Vice-President of the Board), Dr. Efthimios Tartaras (MSc, PhD Geoscience Manager-Management Consultant, HEREMA), Mr. Konstantinos Nazos (Deputy CEO, Chief of Energy Management, PPC Group), Dr. Fay Makantasi (Research Director, diaNEOsis), Mr. John Roberts (Energy Security Specialist, Methinks Ltd, Scotland, UK), Dr. Charles Ellinas (Senior Fellow, Global Energy Center of the Atlantic Council, Senior Visiting Research Fellow, IENE), Dr. Leo Drollas (Independent Energy Consultant, UK), Dr. Halil Yurdakul Yigitguden (IENE’s Partner, Independent Energy Advisor, Ankara, Turkiye), Dr. Christos Housiadas (President, Greek Atomic Energy Commission), Dr. Dionysios Chionis (Co-Founder, Athlos Energy), Dr. Emmanouil Kakaras (Executive Vice President, GX Solutions, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries EMEA), Ms. Eleni Charisi (Head of Sales & Key Account Management, EnExGroup), Prof. Stavros A. Papathanasiou (National Technical University of Athens, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Electric Power Division, Greece), George Kremlis (Member of the Board of Directors, Director of the Circular Economy & Climate Institute, Ambassador of the EPLO to Bulgaria) and Dr. Amit Mor (CEO of Eco Energy, Financial & Strategic Consulting and Senior Lecturer at Reichman University, Israel).
Mr. Faidon Papadimoulis, Clean Energy & Technology Modeller, Energy Technology Policy Division, International Energy Agency (IEA), Paris
More than 90 speakers and moderators participated in 19 Sessions of the Conference.
The agenda and structure of IENE's 29th National Conference "Energy and Development" covered a wide range of topics, including the interconnection of energy with the economy, the effects of prices on development, the geopolitical environment and how this affects production and supply issues, the organization and operation of the gas and electricity markets, the escalating penetration of RES in electricity generation in combination with storage systems, the problem of cuts in RES production for reasons of system stability, as well as electrical networks, international electrical interconnections and the geopolitics of energy.
As every year, the event was held under the auspices of Greece’s Ministry of Environment and Energy (MEER), the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Waste and Water (RAAEY), and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The Conference was widely supported by the energy sector and industry as well as from banks and law firms from Greece and abroad. More specifically:
HELLENiQ ENERGY was the event’s Lead Sponsor, whereas TERNA Energy, Energean, Motor Oil, as well as Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE) S.A. and KG Law Firm participate as Sponsors.
The Conference’s Supporters included EnSCo, Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company (HEREMA) S.A., the Public Gas Corporation of Greece, DEPA S.A., as well as the Renewable Energy Sources Operator & Guarantees of Origin (DAPEEP) S.A., EnergyLive, Gastrade, CrediaBank, as well as the Hellenic Energy Exchange S.A. (HEnEx S.A.).
Media sponsors for the event included the energy portal Energia.gr, NEGlobal.eu, Euro2day.gr, allazorevma.gr, as well as the “Naftemporiki” newspaper.
(main photo) Prof. Yannis Maniatis, MEP, Vice President of the S&D Group, former Minister of Environment, Energy & Climate Change (online)
