Greece: 9 Geo-Wonders on Pindos Mountain

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) The rocks of Deskati in north-western Greece’s prefecture of Grevena – a European Destination of Excellence –  have attracted the interest of geologists around the world as they tell the geological history of the earth and were the basis for the development of the tectonic plates theory.  Deskati and the greater region of Vounasa are among the nine geo-wonders in the Pindos Mountain Range that were the subject of a scientific conference held in the Prefecture of Grevena aimed at their promotion into tourist destinations. The rocks of Deskati were created 700 million years ago when the ancient super continent Pangaea (meaning “all earth” in Greek) broke up to form the European and African continents. Later they were submerged into the Tethys Ocean that existed between the continents and united the region of today’s Britain with China.  The nine geo-wonders of Pindos include the heavily deformed limestone rocks at Mt Tsourgiakas and their small waterfalls, the gorge of Portitsa, the Pierced Rock formed as a result of erosion, Vasilitsa and its multicoloured rocks, the villages of Dotsiko and Mesolouri with their 30-million-year old coral reef and the village of Monachiti with its 50-meter wide vertical rocks. Meanwhile, the Aliakmon River Gorge is currently being studied by scientists from the United States, the UK, Serbia, Italy and Greece in an intense effort to have its geological data recorded considering that by the end of the next decade it will be flooded as soon as the construction of the Public Power Corporation (DEI) “Ilarion” Dam is completed.  

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Greece: Energy Plant to Boost Energy Plants

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  A new unit at the Liquified Natural Gas Terminal at Revythousa – one of Greece’s most significant national infrastructures and one among the ten equivalent liquefied natural gas terminals operating today throughout the Mediterranean and Europe- was inaugurated yesterday (May 28) by the Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator (DESFA) and the Ministry of Development.   The new unit has an output of 13 MW of electrical energy and 14 MW of thermal energy. It has the highest production rate in the country (90%), cutting 22,000 tones of carbon dioxide emissions. Twenty percent of the electrical energy produced is sold to the Public Power Corporation.  During the inauguration ceremony, Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis announced government’s goal for another 85,000 Greek households to have access to the natural gas network by the end of the year, amounting to 250,000 households, and hopefully increasing that number to a total of one million citizens by the end of 2010.  Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Energy Affairs; Public Gas Corporation: Natural Gas

Greek Islands Wind Parks

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Greece’s Public Power Corporation’s (PPC) subsidiary PPC renewables announced on Wednesday that it will invest €60 million in nine wind parks, producing 35.1 megawatts of power. The islands of Crete and Samos will each get two wind parks, while Paros, Lesvos, Rhodes, Sifnos and Lemnos will get one each. The projects are scheduled for completion in the next 24 months. Kathimerini daily: Greener power for PPC plants; Centre for Renewable Energy: Wind Energy 

Greece – Turkey: New Power Deal

GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Rising demand for electric power in Greece has prompted the sealing of an electricity deal between Greece and Turkey. The agreement provides the exchange of power between the two countries throughout the year for a two-year period. In particular, Greece will import up to 200 MW from Turkey during the summer and export it back to the neighbour country in the winter. Exchanges with Turkey started last year, although on a limited scale. The latest agreement “is proof that there is great potential for the countries to work together,” Minister of Development Christos Folias said. Public Power Corporation s.a.: International Interconnections