The First Repowering project in Greece by EWT and RESINVEST on behalf of PPC Renewables
In the presence of representatives of the political leadership, the region, the local government and executives of the energy sector, RESINVEST and EWT celebrated the completion of the first Repowering project in Greece on 9 Aegean islands on behalf of PPC Renewables.
The event was welcomed by Mrs. R. Savvaki, Senior Economic Policy Officer on behalf of the ambassador of the Netherlands, Mr. S. Terstal, Mr. S. Oikonomou, President of the Centre for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES), Mr. K. Mavros, CEO of PPC Renewables, Mr. C. Kok, CEO of EWT and Mr. D. Karagoules, General Manager of RESINVEST. The event was coordinated by the journalist Ms. M. Nikoltsiou.
EWT, through a public open tender, was assigned, by PPC Renewables, to undertake the design, supply, transport, installation, commissioning and maintenance of 10 Wind Farms, 22 Wind Turbines with a total capacity of 19.8MW on 9 Aegean islands, specifically in Evia, Ikaria, Karpathos, Psara, Lesvos Limnos, Samos, Chios and Mykonos, while the Greek group RESINVEST undertook as the main contractor the project management for the transportation and erection of the wind turbines. The infrastructure projects were assigned to joint venture, Electromec-Nostira and RESINVEST.
The contractors built all 10 wind farms simultaneously, with active construction sites on all the islands, despite the numerous difficulties they faced. Among the important successes of the project are the implementation of a particularly demanding and technically complex solution for the transport of the equipment to Melanios, Chios, through beach landing, for which a temporary ramp of 36 meters was built into the sea. Also, special management of the Wind Turbines had to be carried out in the Petrified Forest in Sigri, Lesvos, as a total of 650 findings were found in 3 foundations where they were transferred with special care and diligence to the Petrified Forest Museum in a specially designed exhibition space. Finally, the timely completion of the project was a challenge due to the unfavorable situation of lack of important materials for the construction of the interconnection networks, machinery and personnel due to the successive lockdowns.
Despite the difficulties, EWT and RESINVEST managed to handle all the issues that arose and currently 22 EWT Wind Turbines are in operation and generate more than 54,000 MWh per year, while at the same time contributing to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 15,500 tons per year. Their good operation has been ensured through a 14-year maintenance contract.
Environmental management of the removed equipment was carried out on all the islands and, according to the current institutional framework, they were transferred to special management centers. Finally, for the first time all infrastructure projects are certified in terms of their construction quality by an independent body (BoP Certification).
The aim of Repowering is to make better use of the already installed equipment, the energy potential and the latest technology, which through modern wind turbines offer greater energy efficiency and better results.
Mr. Carel Kok, said in his speech “as a newcomer to EWT, I am completely satisfied to see the excellent teamwork, technical training of people, ability to overcome problems and excellent cooperation. I am proud of everything we have achieved together and I am convinced that our wind turbines together with our new Class IA model, are perfectly designed to meet the challenges and the ambitious plan for Repowering the Aegean”.
“In his speech, Mr. K. Mavros mentioned “the completion of the first Repowering project in our country demonstrates the determination of PPC Renewables to pave the way for a new market, the Repowering market.”
Mr. Dimitris Karagoules, having described the successful completion of a very complex parallel construction project of 10 Wind Farms, that is also the first Repowering project in Greece, he emphasized the urgency of the goverment to take immediate measures in order to support and encourage repowering projects in Greece, which could itself meet the goals of the Greek National Energy Plan (ESEK), without additional essential environmental impact. Finally, he requested that the National Energy Planning is updated with the aim to fully exploit the country’s potential in energy production from Renewables so that Greece becomes a key exporter of green energy in the next decade.
