As the wind power industry expands, sometimes wind companies have to get a little creative with how they install their turbines. While for many people the first image that is conjured in their minds when they think of wind power is a wide open plane with turbines on it, sometimes wind power projects are installed in an unexpected location to maximize power generation.
Greece’s 73.2 MW Agios Georgios project is situated just off the southern coast of the country, on an uninhabited island in the Aegean Sea. The project saw completion last year, thanks to Greek utility company Terna Energy. According to the company, the wind plant is the only onshore wind project to have offshore wind characteristics.
The advantage of having the wind farm stationed on an island in the Aegean Sea is that it can capitalize on the higher and more sustained winds of the sea. The Agios Georgios wind farm is hit with an average of around 8.4 m/s (19 mph) wind speeds, which is higher than many onshore wind farms. It will produce almost 250-gigawatt hours of electricity a year.
The project is Greece’s largest operational wind installation and consists of 14 Vestas V112 3.3MW and nine V90 3.0MW turbines. Over $170 million was spent to construct the project and connect it to the mainland grid near Athens. The energy is transported via a dedicated submarine cable connection to a center of major demand in Attica.
Seven different ships were used to deliver components for the project to the Greek port of Lavrio. Afterward, local ships would then ferry the supplies and components to the island. The entire delivery process took five months.
The above photo was one of the winners of the Global Wind Energy Council’s photo competition celebrating Global Wind Day.