Continued US interest in Greece’s energy sector potential, by both official Washington and private firms, was reconfirmed on Thursday with a visit to Athens and talks with Greek leadership by US Secretary for Energy Dan Brouillette, a development that comes a month before another US administration is sworn in.
Brouillette was received and held talks with his Greek counterpart, Costis Hatzidakis, while delegations by both sides also met in the presence of US ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt.
According to reports, talks touched on companies already active in the renewable energy sources sector in Greece, “smart” power grids and energy storage solutions. Among others, over the first nine months of 2020 Greece has met 50 percent of its LNG demands with imports from the United States.
At the same time, stepped up American interest has centered over recent years on the small extreme northeast port of Alexandropoulis, considered as promising regional hub for maritime and land-based energy routes, including pipelines. A floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), in fact, is set for construction and operation off Alexandroupolis.
Additionally, in an indirect effort by both US diplomacy and official Athens to boost confidence in Skopje, a special mention was made for strengthening energy ties between Greece and its landlocked northern neighbor, the Republic of North Macedonia.
In shedding any notion that the US Secretary’s visit was mostly a “courtesy call” by a member of the now lame duck Trump Cabinet, Brouillette was first received by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Maximos Mansion for talks also attended by the General Secretary Energy and Minerals Resources, Alexandra Sdoukou.
