Wind Power News: Greece
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Too much of a good thing? Wind power and the battle for Greece’s wild heart
Greece’s lack of a strategic planning framework allows developers to license wind power projects many times over requirements, disregarding their impact on local habitats. Is there a better way to plan for renewable energy that avoids damaging the environment in the name of combating climate change? “Name your three favourite places in Greece, then look at the map of the Greek Energy Regulator. There is most probably a wind farm planned there”, says Dimitris Gotsis, a design engineer and outdoors . . . Complete story »
Gov’t tells regulator to withdraw wind turbine permits in fire-affected areas
The country’s energy regulator should withdraw a permit for the erection of wind turbines on a mountain in northern Evia affected by last August’s wildfires, a government minister said on Monday. In a letter to the head of the Energy Regulatory Authority, Minister for Environment and Energy Kostas Skrekas expressed his surprise that a permit had been issued to erect wind turbines in the municipality of Istiaia, in northern Evia. “I was surprised to learn that the Energy Regulatory Authority . . . Complete story »
Minister calls for revocation of wind turbine permits in northern Evia
ΑΤΗΕΝS – The Energy Regulatory Authority must revoke the licenses for wind turbines it has approved for Istiea, in fire-devastated northern Evia, Environment & Energy Minsiter Kostas Skrekas demanded in a letter on Monday. In a letter to the authority’s president, Athanassios Dagoumas, the minister expressed his surprise at the decision, stressing that the government had “explicitly promised that it will not intervene in fire-devasted areas until the restitution committee submits its plans.” “Instead,” he said, “I was informed to my . . . Complete story »
The strange case of the climate scientists fighting a wind farm
On the edge of the Aegean Sea lies Antikythera, a bone-dry, windswept rock of 8.5 square miles (22 square kilometers) and 22 inhabitants. Despite appearances, this unforgiving land holds immense ecological importance. A NATURA-protected area, it is a migration hot spot for birds, with more than 200 species from Africa reposing there each spring and fall before heading north and south respectively; it is home to the world’s largest colony of Eleonora’s falcon; it is the westernmost site in the . . . Complete story »
They said ‘no’ to illegal wind turbines
Yesterday the residents of Rethymno sent a loud message to the law-breaking investors in wind energy, preventing the installation of three wind turbines within walking distance from the village of Adraktos in the mountains of the Municipality of Agios Vasileios. From four o’clock in the morning, after being informed that the wind turbines had been unloaded at Souda Port, the residents set up a blockade on the access road, specifically in the Kissou Kampos area. The trucks carrying the wind . . . Complete story »
Nymfaio wind farm plans meet with opposition
Residents and eco-groups in Florina, northern Greece, are calling on the Environment Ministry to put a stop to plans for wind farms in Nymfaio, saying that licensing procedures overlook the area’s ecological importance and the impact energy development would have on endangered animal species. “We are not opposed to producing energy from wind farms and solar parks, but we are completely opposed to them being sited without proper planning,” Yiannis Boutaris, president of the Arcturos organization, told a press conference . . . Complete story »
Wind farms threaten Greece’s Cape Malea
Wind farms, areas that include a wall of wind turbines generating electricity, could spoil both the scenery and the habitats of indigenous wildlife on a beautiful peninsula in the southeastern Peloponnese at Cape Maleas. Part of the Greek government’s ambitious plan to arrive at climate neutrality in 2030, 25 turbine licenses have been approved, with 170 turbines expected to be installed. The green energy campaign, including the installation of the wind turbine farms, is facing a public outcry from the . . . Complete story »
Εnvironmentalists fear windfarm scars on mountain forests
Greek environmentalists are protesting against a flagship windfarm project whose giant turbines they say will ruin acres of ancient forests – underlining the tough choices the government faces in implementing a green energy drive. “There are hundreds of trees stretching for kilometres which will be destroyed,” said mountain climber Tassos Baltas, part of an informal coalition of environmentalists, citizens’ groups and local authorities who oppose the 470 megawatt, 100-turbine scheme. Greece is pushing to increase its clean energy resources to . . . Complete story »
Work suspended at wind farm in Northern Greece
The suspension of all work for the construction of a wind farm at Aetorrachi Nymfaio in northern Greece and the removal of machinery parked near the entrance to the settlement was ordered on Monday by a court in Florina, following an appeal from the Kallisto and Arcturos environmental organizations and other groups. The Municipality of Amyntaio also intervened in favor of the temporary cessation of the company’s operations. A final decision is to be announced on June 3, when both . . . Complete story »
Florina court halts wind farm construction at Nymfaio
A court in Florina, northern Greece, ruled the temporary suspension of all construction works for a wind farm at Nymfaio, following a request by two environmental organisations and local residents, it was reported on Monday. Machinery found 1 km before the entrance to the construction site at Aetorachi, Nymfaio, will have to be removed, the court added. The suspension was requested by both the Environmental Organization for Wildlife & Nature “Callisto” and the “Arctouros” environmental organization, over the project’s impact . . . Complete story »
