Greece's ambitious plans are to become one of the recognized green hubs within the next twenty years.
It not only plans to produce electricity to fully meet domestic consumption, but also promises to supply its neighbors with surplus clean energy: the country of strong winds is betting on the development of wind energy.
It is worth recognizing that the production of renewable energy sources is growing rapidly in the country. New onshore wind turbines are popping up like mushrooms after rain, and the country plans to reach 12 gigawatts of energy from offshore wind farms in the next two decades. A Euronews correspondent tried to figure it out with his own eyes. How realistic are Greece's plans?whether it will become a clean energy exporter.
Over the past year, 153 wind power plants were connected to the power grid throughout the country. Another 1,150 giant wind turbines are set to be installed on the islands or at sea over the next two decades.
On a trip around the country, the journalist's first stop was the rock of Agios Georgios in the Mediterranean Sea, where numerous wind turbines are located. More than 40,000 homes here are powered by 23 wind turbines.
Costas Ilias, Operations Manager at Terna Energy, a company involved in the Offshore Challenge, says:
“Our goal is to make offshore a reality, to try to provide Greece with energy without any risks from abroad. Of course, we also want to reduce CO2 emissions. There is a strong wind blowing near our coast, we must use it to our advantage, because it is pure gold “.
Europe is lagging behind in implementing its wind energy strategy. However, in EU The Wind Energy Action Plan was released, which provides for the acceleration of the issuance of construction permits. As part of the Plan, the European Investment Bank will provide loan guarantees, and subsidies will be attracted from other sources.
Professor Vassiliki Kati coordinates the research laboratory at the University of Ioannina. Her work on land use planning for wind farms has sparked considerable debate. Kati is sure: wind turbines cannot be built in the middle of natural protected areas, near places rich in endemic species. she says:
“In Austria, only 12% of wind farms are deployed in mountainous areas, but in Greece – 92%. This shows a lack of land use planning in the country.”
Greece is actively building huge storage facilities that require renewable energy sources. Approximately 1,000 people will work on the Amfilohija pumped storage hydropower project. Excess wind energy will be converted into hydroelectric power on demand here. The European Common Interest Project PCI-3.24 is co-funded by the Connecting Europe Facility, a tool for modernizing EU infrastructure. Vangelis Vassis, one of the project developers, says:
“Our project has a total installed capacity of 680 MW for generation and 730 MW for pumping, and a total storage capacity of approximately 5 gigawatt-hours.”
Renewable energy sources are a real challenge for power grids. And they are the guarantor of energy delivery to consumers at any time. According to the European Commission, up to 600 billion euros will need to be invested in improving European networks by 2030. Vice President of Greek grid operator IPTO notes:
“Offshore wind is a new element in the national energy and climate plan. All these renewable energy sources are obviously not needed for domestic consumption in Greece.”
According to him, the strategy is to make Greece an exporter of green energy to Central Europe – through the Balkans or Italy:
“This way the country will be able to export the surplus renewable energy that will be generated. That is why we recently proposed a new project between Greece and Germany that could go through the Adriatic Sea.”
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