Officials at DEDDIE/HEDNO (Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator), RAE (Regulatory Authority for Energy) and the energy ministry have expressed a determination to overcome various technical and institutional matters in order to stage a tender within 2018 for the installation of infrastructure and systems needed to create three smart islands as pilot projects.

The initiative’s objective will be to drastically increase the RES sector’s participation in electricity output to a level of over 60 percent of total annual demand on these islands, as a replacement for the fuel burnt at power stations on these islands.

DEDDIE/HEDNO has delivered a proposal for the tender’s procedure and terms but RAE, which will stage the tender, has yet to process this proposal.

One definite development is the selection of Astypalaia, Symi and Kastelorizo, as the three islands to be developed as pilot-project smart islands.

Meanwhile, meetings are currently being held at the energy ministry to determine issues requiring legislative revisions.

The flood of applications submitted by residents on the three islands for RES station installations is one issue that needs to be resolved. Many of these applications were submitted following an energy ministry leak of the islands chosen for the pilot project.

It is believed these applications will be rejected as otherwise the tender’s winning bidders will not be able to develop sustainable projects.

A legislative revision may be needed to ensure that just one RES investor will be involved on each of the three islands, rather than many.

RAE chose the three aforementioned islands – after considering an initial list of five – as they met requirements needed for the pilot project. Participating islands need to be medium-sized, offer production capacities of between 5 and 10 MW, have high fuel consumption levels at present as well as low RES penetration levels.

The installation of hybrid RES power stations, producing green energy and equipped with storage systems for unused energy, will be facilitated by the initiative. High-tech energy network management systems are also expected to be installed.

Private-sector investors will be invited to participate in the tender. Winning bidders will be remunerated for the energy produced by the projects they develop.