Greek Islands’ Energy Transition: From Lighthouse Projects to the Emergence of Energy Communities
Dimitris Al. Katsaprakakis,
Antonia Proka,
Dimitris Zafirakis,
Markos Damasiotis,
Panos Kotsampopoulos,
Nikos Hatziargyriou,
Eirini Dakanali,
George Arnaoutakis,
Dimitrios Xevgenos
Affiliations
Dimitris Al. Katsaprakakis
Power Plant Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
Antonia Proka
European Federation of Citizen Energy Cooperatives, REScoop.eu, Rue de la Charité 22, 1210 Brussels, Belgium
Dimitris Zafirakis
Laboratory of Soft Energy Applications and Environmental Protection, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of West Attica, 12201 Athens, Greece
Markos Damasiotis
Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving, 19th km Marathonos Ave., 19009 Pikermi, Greece
Panos Kotsampopoulos
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Zografou, Greece
Nikos Hatziargyriou
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Zografou, Greece
Eirini Dakanali
Power Plant Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
George Arnaoutakis
Power Plant Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
Dimitrios Xevgenos
Biotechnology and Society Group, Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
Energy transition in islands constitutes a major challenge. Apart from a necessity, it can also be a great opportunity for sustainable social and economic development. Toward this direction, a new, promising movement has emerged recently in Greek islands. Straight from the roots of the insular population, development of energy communities comes as the result of increased awareness of local people, raised also by the legacy of lighthouse projects and initiatives. Kythnos, Ikaria, Sifnos, Tilos, Agios Efstratios, Crete, and Chalki, are all islands that have embraced the implementation of successful, local-scale innovation projects and/or initiatives, generating meaningful results across different energy aspects and contributing to positive social change. Our study provides an overview of the broader energy transition aspects in Greek islands, discusses the impact of the aforementioned exemplary cases, and further elaborates on the model of energy communities. According to our analysis, leveraging on the experience of lighthouse projects and initiatives, and on the dynamics of the emerging energy community movement, could lead to increased social and economic benefits for the insular populations, to broad public acceptance, and to minimum environmental impacts for the islands’ natural ecosystems.
