Our goal is to create a close-knit community involving refugees and citizens of Athens who will actively contribute to clean energy production. We will have a strategic and business plan ready for an energy community, and if we manage to secure funding we will set the energy community into operation. Ideally, we would like to use this opportunity to transfer the message of energy democracy to people all over Athens, who in turn will become agents of change.
Energy poverty
Energy poverty is extremely widespread in Greece, affecting up to 58% of households[1]. This becomes even more pronounced in vulnerable social groups, like refugees and migrants. From heating and cooling to daily access to the internet, access to electricity is essential in modern societies. Specifically for refugees and migrants who are already facing multiple barriers (bureaucratic, cultural, economic etc.), energy poverty can be one more important obstacle to integration. In Electra Energy Cooperative we share the common belief that clean energy should be a common good accessible to all. This is why through our work we encourage the active participation of citizens of all backgrounds in energy production.
[1] Papada, L. and Kaliampakos, D. (2016) ‘Measuring energy poverty in Greece’, Energy Policy. Elsevier, 94, pp. 157–165. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2016.04.004.
Workshops / activities
Field trips I and II
16.04.2021 and 17.04.2021
We went for a field trip to the National Technical University of Athens in order to see solar panels, small wind turbines, small hydro turbines, battery banks and diesel generators, and also in order to get a chance to see the laboratories in which they are tested. The solar panels we saw are used in car parks for shading, are installed on south-facing building walls, or are installed at rooftops, along with some small wind turbines. They are used for testing and experimental purposes along with battery banks and diesel generators, and the energy they produce is fed into the main electricity grid through inverters.
The teams got a chance to understand the basic principles of operation, see all this infrastructure from close up, and also visit some of the labs. In the labs, we also got the chance to see a testing facility for small hydro turbines and a wind tunnel testing facility for small wind turbines.
Overall, the team got to understand how modern renewable energy systems work, how they interact with the main grid, how storage and backup generators are used, and how these kinds of technology are tested in a university environment.
Solar Workshop II
17.04.2021
We organized the construction of a solar panel in the workshop.
The participants got the chance to make a 45W solar panel from scratch and test it. Initially, we connected conductors to each solar cell and then we connected them in groups of 6 solar cells. We then glued these series in the correct configuration on a glass panel and then connected all the series together.
We encapsulated the solar cells in between two glass panels and sealed them with silicone. We then constructed an aluminum frame to go around the glass panels and connected the junction box. As a final test, we took the solar panel outside, measured its voltage, and tested its operation by lighting up a LED light.
The participants got a chance to understand the basic operation of a solar panel, learned how to make one, and tested its operation in real conditions.
Solar Workshop I
16.04.2021
Test site visit
09.04.2021
We went for a field trip to Rafina in order to perform maintenance on a small wind turbine. This small wind turbine is used for testing purposes mostly, but could also provide electricity for a small household. The maintenance included lowering the wind turbine using a winch, inspecting all of its parts (such as the generator, the blades and the tail), painting the wooden blades with varnish and applying grease to the yaw and furling tail bearing.
This wind turbine has been built locally with simple tools and materials, which makes maintenance easy and inexpensive. After maintaining the small wind turbine the team inspected the electrical system in order to make sure all electrical connections were in good shape. The electrical system consists of the rectifier, the batteries, the charge controller, and the diversion loads, and the operation of all of these components was explained to the participants and their operation was experienced on site.
Overall, the team got to understand how a small wind turbine works, which are its parts, and how to maintain them. Additionally, the electrical system was explained to the team, and the participants got a chance to experience firsthand its operation while seeing the small wind turbine produce electricity for the wind.
Capacity building / participatory workshop II
11.03.2021
Open event/workshop
04.02.2021
Over 220 participants joined this very interesting workshop on designing a collective self-consumption energy community in Athens.
REScoops are energy cooperatives, a business model where citizens jointly own and democratically control an enterprise that works on renewable energy or energy efficiency projects. We also refer to REScoops as citizen or renewable energy communities (RESCOOP.EU)
Some of their activities include energy generation from renewable energy sources, energy storage, energy self-consumption, electric mobility, energy saving, educational activities
Energy poverty in Athens
Characteristics of the building stock and infrastructure networks
The majority of the buildings in the Municipality of Athens are apartment buildings that have been constructed during the first post-war decades, through the system of antiparohi (i.e. a land-for-flats barter system). Their construction features [2], as well as the fact that only a small part has been adequately maintained since their construction, has led to forming a decaying building stock with serious functional problems – especially concerning energy efficiency. The majority of apartment buildings have a central heating system, without individual choice concerning the amount of heating and the timing. In terms of energy resources, the main parameter is the natural gas network in the neighborhood. Where this network is not available, central heating systems have to use heating oil.
Regular dwellings without insulation
Mapping the Census 2011 data produced by the Greek Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), we see that the percentage of buildings having no insulation at all is rather high all over the Municipality of Athens. In the historical centre, as well as in the districts of Agios Pavlos, Attiki square, Kipseli and Patisia, there are enclaves where more than 80% of dwellings do not have any insulation. In peripheral areas of the Municipality (like Sepolia, Ano Patisia, Ano Kipseli, Poligono) and in small enclaves in the city centre (e.g. the areas around Lycabettus hill) residences lacking insulation are fewer; a fact related to the higher rate of buildings constructed after 1979 –when insulation became obligatory for new buildings (Official Gazette 362D΄/1979).
