Tilos, Greece: on the quiet Greek Island of Tilo, buzzing wind turbine on a silvery sea while burning sunlight hit a hill coated with solar panels.
The small island of around 800 residents is the first island in the Mediterranean to produce almost all electricity from renewable sources under the pioneering project launched in 2018.
Only 65 square kilometers (25 square miles), Tilos last week is one of the three islands who were awarded the EU gift for Clean energy transition, along with Denmark’s Aero and Spain El Hierro, part of the Canaries group.
Connected by a submarine electric cable to boarding, the larger neighbor island in the southeast aegean sea, tilo does not have a lack of sunlight and wind to be withdrawn.
This is 100 percent independent energy for most of the year, although that level drops to 70 percent during the summer because of higher energy demands than the tourist season, said Mayor Maria Kamma.
“This is the solution, especially for the small islands of our country,” Kamma told AFP.
Spyros Alferis, an engineer with a Greek renewable energy specialist Eunice Energy, said Tilos had the first hybrid power plant in the country.
“It’s a hybrid because it combines more than one renewable energy source, wind and sun,” he told AFP.
Tilo does not have a factory to talk about, only small drink shops and shops, low energy demand that makes the transition to renewable energy easier.
The island is used to get all the electricity from diesel oil power plants in boarding.
Some locals were eager with green initiatives, which were supported by 11 million euros ($ 13 million) under the initiative of the 2020 UE horizon competitiveness, plus four million from Greek private investors.
“This is the future.
It is good that green energy starts from such small islands, for us to be able to be independent and free themselves from (fossil fuels),” said Vassilis Oikonomou, owner of a 46-year-old snack bar.
Others are more provided.
“It’s still early, efforts made and we all clap that,” said the owner of the Cafe Prodromos Trikilis.
He said the locals had soldiers through a surge in power and blackouts to get projects running, even though they were less frequent because the grid was less under pressure now with a hybrid system.
“But if you see it in the long run how everything will happen, it’s worthy of being patient,” he said.
Wind turbines and solar panels, contributed by Eunice energy, each has a capacity of 800 kilowatts and 400 kilowatts.
“This project has worked perfectly for two years,” Alferis said, pointing to a storage battery.
“This shows that a small island can operate only on renewable energy,” he said.
In the west, the istypalea island has taken challenges, hoping to cover 70 percent of its energy needs with renewable energy in three to four years, Kostas Frequogiannis said, a deputy minister who initiated a government project.
In early June, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsakakis visited a butterfly island of 1,300 to promote a similar hybrid project which aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions by up to 70 percent and energy costs by 25 percent.
The 10 million euro project including six million provided by Greek countries was partly funded by the German car giant Volkswagen and aims to replace Astypalea cars with electric vehicles.
Wind turbines and solar panels will also help the island population of their home diesel generators, their only energy source.
“In our eyes, it is a model for the world”, said Fragkogiannis.
The main opposition of the local chapter Syriza Party criticized the move as “advertising campaign” Volkswagen with Astypalea functions as “exotic sights.” According to sources at the Ministry of Energy and the Greek environment, there are similar electric vehicle plans in Chalki, a small island west of Rhodes, in collaboration with the Citroen Giant Auto France.
This 26 kilometer island has also been intended for hybrid power plants, with European funds.
The agreement will be launched on Friday, the government’s source told AFP.
Volkswagen and Citroen showed a greener side after they were charged in France with respect to “dieselgate” emissions which cheated scandals.
Other islands will be involved in government projects, although the sources of the Ministry of Energy say that it will only involve those who are not attached to the national grid, further than Athens.