Despite their great renewable energy resources, energy transition in Greek islands is hindered in many occasions due to several reasons related to lack of planning, limited engagement of the local
communities, limited space and conflicting land uses and others.

Due to the special characteristics of Greek islands that include environmentally protected areas, limited spaces and intense geographies, traditional architecture, clean energy projects can easily create turbulence within the local community, as it is believed they can negatively affect the landscape of the islands, while the local economies are heavily dependent on tourism. Through DIALOGUES project, DAFNI-Network of Sustainable Islands aims to include island communities in the energy transition process by suggesting solutions adjusted to the island characteristics and engaging the citizens in participatory planning processes. In this direction, DAFNI has collaborated with GEOSPATIAL ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES (GET) for the development of a web-based application that will be integrated in the Greek Citizen Action Labs (CALs) as part of DIALOGUES project.

The web-based application will consist of two parts: The first aims to provide an improved representation of the potential RES installations on islands, which will be closer to the reality than the already existing application map provided by Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE). The objective is to help citizens understand the real visual impact of RES installations and enhance their understanding of the licensing procedures of private RES investments in islands.

The second part is a geospatial questionnaire that aims to map the local communities’ understanding of climate change and its impact on their islands, help local communities understand the spatial restrictions for RES projects and enhance local participation in the site selection process for clean energy projects.

Finally, on top of the first two parts, an augmented reality tool will be tested on-site, providing a visual representation of the potential RES projects selected by the participants of the CAL.  The feedback of participants will be recorded and assessed with the aim to provide a useful tool to local authorities and energy communities designing clean energy projects in a participatory way.

To host the CALs, DAFNI has selected 3 Greek islands with different characteristics (size, distance from the mainland, interconnected or non) but with ongoing or planned decarbonization projects. The
ultimate goal of each CAL is to contribute to each island’s Clean Energy Transition Agenda (CETA), a strategic roadmap for the transition process towards clean energy, promoted by the Clean energy for EU
islands initiative and designed by the local community for the local community.

Author: Ismini Moustafelou, Petros Markopoulos (DAFNI-Network of Sustainable Greek Islands)