A critical perspective on economy, modernity and temporality in contemporary Greece through the prism of energy practice

During the Greek economic crisis a focus on energy practice highlights the temporal complexities of local coping strategies. Re-launched in 2011, the European Union supported solar energy initiative encourages installation of futuristic, high-tech photovoltaic panels on fertile agricultural land. Entangled with intricate notions of neo-colonialism and occupation, the solar program provides extra income for disenfranchised farmers and much needed local employment opportunities. However, winter 2012-13 witnessed a return en-mass to ‘archaic’ open fires and wood-burning stoves that locals associate with material poverty, pre-modernity, and pre-Europeanization. Energy practice provides a prism through which to discuss increased social suffering and reassess the place of Greece in a modern Europe.