The “torture” of wind turbines for the inhabitants of a Greek island

Wind turbines tower as far as the eye can see on the hills surrounding the coastal town of Agii Apostoli, on the Greek island of Euboea, a real “torture” for the eyes and ears of the inhabitants, outraged by the damage it causes to This region.

“‘Why have we allowed this crime to be committed’, tourists who have been coming here for years ask us,” explains Stamatoula Karava, head of a local cultural association.

From her home, where she likes to gaze at the mountains on the horizon, this Agii Apostoli resident is outraged that the view is “completely ruined” by the “giant” wind turbines, whose little red lights blink all night.

Some 80 km northeast of Athens, the island of Euboea was among the first regions in Greece to host a wind farm twenty years ago, but the multiplication of immense structures in recent years has saturated the sparsely populated south of the island.

The municipality of Karystos, with an area of ​​672 km2, has more than 400 wind turbines, some of which have even been installed along the main road.

The oldest ones are abandoned, with broken propellers, on a hill, “without any recycling program. A real scandal”, denounces Chryssoula Bereti, president of the Karystos Anti-wind Front.

Battered by the strong winds of the Aegean Sea, “Euboea is an island of great wind capacity, where numerous licenses were granted, reaching almost a maximum level”, explains Athanasios Dagoumas, president of the Greek Authority for Energy Regulation (RAE). .

Loss of lignite in Greece

The maximum power of wind energy in the country, currently 8,205 MW, multiplied by more than six in two years, according to the RAE.

To meet its European commitments on climate change, Greece had to go to great lengths to green its energy.

The country’s main resource, lignite (coal), is slowing down, with some factories closing or being converted to natural gas units.

Greece is now only 10% dependent on lignite and relies more on natural gas (40%) and renewable energy (30%), of which 18% is wind power.

But with its mountainous relief and rich biodiversity, “so many wind farms in Greece cannot be tolerated,” says Dimitris Soufleris, head of the environmental protection society of Kymi, in central Euboea.

Under the leadership of the “Free Mountains Without Wind Turbines” movement, protests multiplied last year in mountainous regions, especially in the north of the country, in the Pindos massif, as well as on the Cycladic islands of Tinos, Andros and Skyros.

According to Dagoumas, the Greek government was forced to ban wind turbines in six mountainous areas where “licenses were revoked”. In northern Euboea, where thick forests were devastated last summer by huge fires, the planned construction of wind turbines was put on hold “for the time being”.

In the last two years, photovoltaic panels have surpassed wind turbines, which are “more demanding” and more expensive on average, Athanasios Dagoumas stresses.

However, Soufleris says that there will soon be 18 new wind turbines near Agii Apostoli.

Nikos Balaskas, whose house is located 340 meters from the turbines, took the issue to court: “As an engineer, I am not against green energy, but the rules have to be respected” since, at this level of inconvenience , “It’s torture, an ordeal, we can’t sleep because of the noise.”