“It’s the future of no longer depending on oil”, exclaims Vassilis Oikonomou, in his café bar in the port. Like most of the 780 inhabitants of Tilos, small Greek island of Dodecanese Located 500 km from Athens as the crow flies, the 40-year-old is pleased that his “island is autonomous” so as to no longer “depend on the surrounding islands” for energy.
Benefiting from the sun and the wind, Tilos has had the first hybrid power plant in Greece for two years. With its photovoltaic panels with a capacity of 400 kilowatts and its wind turbine with a power of 800 kilowatts, “the project is working perfectly”, estimates Spyros Aliferis, engineer ofEunice Energy, a Greek specialist in renewable energies, which supplied the wind turbine and solar panels. “This is an example that a small island can operate only with renewable energies,” he adds.
“All residents are winners”
Frozen facing the sea, the Tilos wind turbine slowly snorts as the sun hits one of its hills lined with photovoltaic panels. Thanks to 11 million euros from European funds and 4 from Greek private investors, “all inhabitants are winners, the cost of energy is reduced and there are fewer power cuts than before”, is proud the mayor of Tilos, Maria Kamma.
Victorious, this week, of the 3rd European prize for the best energy transition (after Danish and Spanish islands), “Tilos gave the example and it is the solution for the small islands of our country”, estimates Maria Kamma. Connected by a submarine cable to the neighboring island of Kos, Tilos is “100% energy independent most of the time, but at the peak of the tourist season, it is rather 70%”, admits the city council. The green island of the Dodecanese, the quasi-autonomous energy pioneer wants to “set an example” for her little Greek sisters, some of whom are already taking over.