Photo: Hellenic Wind Energy Association
Greek Public Power Corporation (PPC) has repowered 130 old wind turbines. The company is also launching the construction of three new wind farms.
It should be noted that PPC was the first company in Greece to build wind farms, back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Given that the first facilities have reached the end of their operational life, the need is evident to recycle old turbines and replace them with modern ones in a process called repowering.
PPC has so far replaced around 130 old wind turbines across the country with 30 new ones, producing the same amount of electricity, Hellenic Wind Energy Association’s (HWEA or, in Greek, Eletaen) CEO Panagiotis Papastamatiou said in an interview with Naftemporiki TV.
The replacement is possible due to technological progress and drop in costs in recent decades.
At the same time, PPC is providing an example for other companies to follow as more and more old wind farms will have to be repowered. The association’s data show that a total of 107 MW was in operation in Greece in 1999, meaning the turbines are now at least 25 years old.
Overall, HWEA is confident that the vast majority of its member companies would follow established rules about repowering and recycling.
Three new wind farms
PPC also announced it is beginning the construction of three new wind farms through its PPC Renewables subsidiary. Total capacity is 100 MW.
They will be installed in Rhodope, Phocida (Phocis) and Argolida (Argolis), consisting of 19 Nordex N149/5.X turbines.
Their combined annual production is estimated at over 280 GWh.
Completion is expected in the first half of 2026. The investment is part of the group’s 3.8 GW renewables portfolio of projects nearing construction. It plans to boost capacity to 11.8 GW from 5.5 GW by 2027.
PPC is also building a 140 MW wind farm in Romania, to be completed by the end of 2025.
Debunking fake news
Papastamatiou also mentioned various fake news and misunderstandings circulating about wind energy. When it comes to the rumor that wind turbines are being installed on the sites of burned forests, he said wind farms occupy just 0.06% of acreage out of all burned areas formally designated for reforestation.
Burning a forest to build a wind farm makes no sense
In any case, Greece and the European Union have strict criteria for the installation of wind farms in forests. Therefore, there is no incentive to burn down a forest in order to install such systems, he underlined.
Last but not least, HWEA insists that currently there are no broken or abandoned wind turbines anywhere in Greece. When someone sees a dormant wind turbine on a mountaintop, it usually means there is either a temporary malfunction or simply that the system operator has ordered production curtailment.
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