Skourletis opens way for island hybrid power stations

A ministerial decision specifying terms and conditions for the sale of electricity by hybrid power stations to noninterconected island networks was signed by Panos Skourletis, minister for production, reconstruction, environment and energy, prior to his departure from the post, Energy Press of Greece reported. The former government, headed by Syriza party, resigned on August 20.

Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) had delivered a proposal for the decision at the end of last year. The benefit for an island is that hybrid stations combine multiple sources for non-intermittent power. Like many other pending energy issues, the initiative was neglected during the tenure of Skourletis’s predecessor Panayiotis Lafazanis, who was replaced from the energy ministry’s helm a little over a month before, eventually abandoning Syriza to form his own political movement – Popular Unity.

The breakaway party was founded on August 21 by 25 deputies who left Syriza, headed by Alexis Tsipras. Popular Unity pledges opposition to the latest bailout deal for Greece and eurozone membership.

Small Dodecanese island of Tilos combines power generation from renewable energy sources with storage in developing an autonomous smart grid, in a multinational European demonstration and research project.