The Hellenic Wind Energy Association HWEA/ELETAEN was founded in 1990. It has been a member of the European Wind Energy Association WindEurope since its founding and operates as its National Representative in Greece.
Members of HWEA become:
- companies and organizations active in the entire supply chain of wind energy, such as manufacturers, equipment traders, services providers, investors, developers , research centers and institutes etc.
- individuals, professionals, business executives, scientists, researchers, academics etc.
HWEA’s Board of Directors is elected every two years.
HWEA maintains and serves a twofold scope:
- it seeks to promote the scientific research, technology and applications of wind energy and at the same time
- tries to effectively express the well-meant interests of the industry and the market by acting as a think-tank and dialogue forum with scientific documentation and competence.
HWEA serves wind energy and it has many reasons for this:
- Thanks to the progress of technology, wind energy is the cheapest option for new power plants. It offers cheaper electricity for consumers and the national economy, compared to our remaining in fossil fuels. Its massive growth will offer a valuable support in society, industry and business.
- Wind energy creates new jobs and growth. In Greece, it has already created more jobs than new conventional power plants.
- Every year, wind energy avoids fuel imports, saving enormous amounts. It also contributes to the stability of energy prices since it is not subject to the fluctuations of the international fuel prices.
- Wind energy is a domestic source. The exploitation of our wind potential, onshore and offshore, contributes to the country’s energy independence. At the same time, it can be the strategic contribution of Greece to Europe’s energy independence, attracting large investments for installations and grids in the Aegean Sea and elsewhere. This means strengthening security and geo-strategic.
- Wind farms support local communities through the annual fee which they pay, according to law, and of course through the development projects and actions that they finance during their construction and operation.
- Interventions for the installation of wind turbines are limited spatially and reversible. Wind investments are governed by strict spatial and environmental regulations that ensure the protection of the environment during and after the operation of the investment.
- Above all, the massive exploitation of wind energy potential places Greece as an equal partner in the international battle against climate change, the most important problem faced by the planet.
Europe is aiming for its electrical system to rely almost exclusively on green energy by combining wind energy with other renewable sources, with energy storage units and other technologies.
This is now technically feasible, economically beneficial and environmentally enforceable.
This fact creates conflicts or, in general, raises issues to be addressed. Their co-ordinated approach is critical both for the rational development of the wind energy market, but mainly for maximizing the social surplus resulting from the use of wind energy.
In Greece, the targets for 2020 and 2030 require huge investments for the installations and the necessary infrastructure. This leads to the question of effectively confronting all the relevant issues in a scientifically sufficient and strictly professional manner. Indicatively, such issues are the transparent growth of competition and investment, the new technologies, the large RES penetration, the relationship of growth and biodiversity, etc.
All these issues require their organized handling. There are specific and clear answers for all these matters that demonstrate the self-evident YES in Wind Energy. The wind industry has to organize professionally these answers and present them. This means to come prepared at the public debate.
