Why Big Wind Is Facing Big Controversy In Greece
Is Greece on its way to becoming Europe’s renewable power outlet? Euronews reporter Hans von der Brelie investigates why the location of wind farms is so important and why everyone is not on board. [emphasis, links added]
Renewable energy production is rapidly increasing all over Greece.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his conservative government have pledged to accelerate clean energy technologies to cover 80 percent of the country’s total energy production by 2030.
Ágios Geórgios, a weather-beaten rock in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Athens, boasts 23 wind turbines which generate enough electricity to power more than 40,000 households back on the mainland.
The government has announced plans to build an additional 1,150 turbines on Greek islands or offshore over the next two decades – that’s enough to generate 12 GW of wind power.
Greece’s installed wind power capacity is expected to reach 6,500 MW within the next three years. Greece’s central region accommodates more than half of national installations or 2,293 MW.
This is partially thanks to the 153 wind power stations that were connected to the country’s energy grid last year. …
Despite the current push, Greece fell behind on its renewable power goals in recent years.
After the solar boom between 2011-2013, when more than 2,000 MW of photovoltaic capacity were installed, a mere 17 MW of new PV capacity was built between 2014–2018.
Consequently, Greece did not meet its 2020 target of 40 percent renewables as part of total electricity production.
Too much of a good thing?
After years of recession, the European ‘Wind Power Action Plan‘ is speeding up the permitting process and enticing developers. The European Investment Bank also offers credit guarantees and there are lots of EU grants available.
While many people in Greece consider wind power an abundant and inexhaustible source of energy, a no-brainer as Europe aims for its net-zero goals, some up-and-coming wind farms are facing opposition from residents and environmentalists alike.
The top concerns are:
- Wind farms can harm biodiversity and the preservation of endangered, threatened, and special concern species.
- When constructed in renowned areas of natural beauty, wind turbines can interrupt the landscape. This can have consequences for the tourism industry and subsequently the local economy.
Professor Vassiliki Kati coordinates a research lab at the University of Ioannina. Her study on planning for wind parks has highlighted the country’s apparent disregard for natural landscapes or protected areas and the negative impact wind farms can have on local habitats.
“In Austria, only 12 percent of wind power stations are planted in mountainous zones, in Greece it’s 92 percent. That shows the lack of spatial planning in our country,” explained Kati.
See more here Climate Dispatch
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