By Costis Stambolis*
Aeolus was ancient Greece’s god of winds. His behaviour was crucial for the welfare of the country since navigation and agriculture were largely dependent upon the presence of steady and strong winds. Today, modern Greece is taking advantage of Aeolus’s wind currents to generate some of its electricity. Although the country’s potential is huge by European standards, the total installed wind capacity hardly exceeds 500 MW with the total electrical capacity of the country just over 12,500MW. By comparison Spain has 8,000 MW of installed wind capacity, Denmark 3,100 MW and Germany 16,500 MW.
Wind energy satisfies a significant part of the electricity requirements in those countries.
Wind energy use in Greece is not a new concept since historical records show that wind was used as far back as the 15th century AD in hundreds, if not thousands, of locations all over the country mostly for the grinding of wheat but also for the lifting of water for irrigation purposes. It has been estimated that early in the last century more than 20,000 windmills of various types were in operation in different parts of the country both on the islands but also in the mainland. Whitewashed, barrel like structures rising up to 10 to 15 meters high and using wooden poles and sail clothes as their propeller can still be seen in very few places, mainly on the islands of Folegandros, Karpathos, Paros, Hydra, Crete and Rhodes. The locations of these old windmills is very important when it comes to assess the potential wind power of specific regions for electricity generation. The builders of the old windmills had an expert understanding of the prevailing wind directions and strength and so were able to orientate their structures in such a way as to take full advantage of the local climatic factors.
Greece, in line with EU and Kyoto requirements is obliged to produce 20.1% of its electricity from renewable energy sources (RES) by the year 2010. That means that a considerable part of this electricity will come from wind energy while the rest will be produced from a variety of other RES sources including small hydro plants, biomass and solar photovoltaic units. According to one of Greece’s leading wind energy experts, Dr. Nicholas Vassilakos, it is fair to expect that at least 2,000 MW of new wind capacity will materialise from now until the end of this decade. However, notes Vassilakos, Greece is capable of absorbing 4,000 MW of wind produced electricity which can be fed into the central grid of the mainland and in the larger islands of Crete and Rhodes. “Should Greece decide to develop wind energy on a really large scale sky is the limit” says John Hadjivassiliadis, an electrical engineer who chairs the RES committee of the Institute of Energy for S.E. Europe. ‘This can be achieved thanks to new technologies now being developed for efficient integration of RES in distributed generation’, observes Hadjivassiliadis. In this sense Greece could one day export wind produced electricity to other European countries.
Greece’s truly significant potential in wind energy has already attracted the interest of several European, USA and Japonese companies, some of which have already invested considerable funds for the development of wind farms. Last month Spain’s leading electricity company with extensive interests in wind energy, Iberdrola aquired 49.9 per cent of Rokas ,which is Greece’s leading wind farm company. Pedro Barriuso,Iberdrola’s director for renewables, says that the 85 million euros deal will give his company a foothold in SE Europe, a region with strong wind growth potential. Rokas, which listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, has a 40% share in the local wind energy market, with the rest being divided between Terna Energiaki, Diethniki Eoliki and other smaller companies.
However, efforts by companies, scientific organizations and individuals to develop the wind market in Greece are seriously hampered by the cumbersome legislation in place which requires an auto producer to seek no less than 41 approvals and licenses from an assortment of ministries, welfare organizations, public utilities and local authorities. The present system is not only byzantine in its conception and mentality but it is also widely corrupt, says a local businessman with many years experience in developing wind projects in Greece. Unless the licensing system is completely overhauled no much progress can be achieved in the coming years and Greece will be lucky if another 500 MW of wind capacity can be installed by the year 2010, notes the above businessman. In fact the existing licensing procedure acts as a disincentive which has prevented many international RES companies from investing in wind energy in Greece, observes Dr.Nicholas Vassilakos. Greece’s new conservative government has pledged a radical review in the existing licensing system but in the 11 months in power has yet to produce the necessary legislation and accompanying administrative directives to effect a real change. Prospective investors in wind energy in Greece remain skeptical as to the government’s plans and have adopted a wait and see approach.
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* Costis Stambolis is an Athens based foreign press correspondent specialising on energy and environment.