The WENDY team convened in Zaragoza on November 14-15 for its 4th Steering Committee Meeting, an occasion that underscored the collective dedication and achievements of its diverse consortium of partners.
“It was great hosting all the WENDY partners at CIRCE’s offices in Zaragoza. The first year has gone by very fast, and I would like to applaud the team’s relentless commitment to meeting deadlines and delivering on our promises,” said Jonatan Peris Rivas, Project Manager at Fundacion CIRCE.
The agenda of the Steering Committee Meeting focused on important WENDY issues, including the social acceptance of wind energy and strategies for minimising environmental impact, with a particular emphasis on bird and bat detection.
During the second day of the meeting, the WENDY consortium visited the TICO wind farm, a project with 43 turbines and 180 MW installed power, owned by EGP. Ana and Sonia from EGP provided invaluable insights into the operational aspects of the wind farm. The site visit included a detailed exploration of the pioneering efforts in birdlife detection and protection, elucidated by experts from Konica Minolta at the facilities nearest to the station.
As WENDY marks this milestone with its 4th Steering Committee Meeting, consisting of 2 online sessions and 2 in-person gatherings, the project remains steadfast in its mission to create a sustainable and socially accepted wind energy future.
In an era of increasing environmental awareness and the drive towards sustainable living, a new concept is gaining momentum on the energy landscape — energy communities. These collaborative initiatives are changing the way we think about energy production, consumption, and ownership, fostering a sense of local empowerment and contributing to the broader transition towards cleaner, more resilient energy systems.
42 local stakeholders were discussing identified challenges regarding social acceptance in wind energy projects during a successful warm-up event in Crete. During the event, several ideas to tackle lack of social acceptance and participation in wind energy was discussed. Some of the ideas were further developed into actionable processes.
As part of the WENDY stakeholder engagement actions, the project pilot partners have been conducting warm-up events for local stakeholders in the pilot areas. The event in Crete, organised by WENDY partner Minoan Energy Community, in cooperation with White Research and Q-plan International, intended to inform the participants on the current situation regarding local wind farm development and initiate important discussions. The need for encouraging and mobilising local citizens and stakeholders to actively participate in these types of projects, and to open for joint dialogue on the potential for new wind turbine installations in Crete is vital. This dialogue should include local authorities, licensing authorities, energy communities, and citizens, and it should define a final siting plan for wind turbines.
A Path to Rebuild Trust
In recent years, Crete and other Greek islands have exhibited a notable decline in public support for wind park installations. Prior to 2009, the general sentiment was either neutral or favourable. However, this changed due to a series of large-scale projects initiated by a limited group of major investors without proper community consultation. Misinformation about the effects of wind farms on the environment and local ecology further added fuel to the fire. It was e.g., believed that wind parks would impact rainfall and the welfare of animals. A first step to re-establish trust and make wind energy more acceptable in Crete is to recall all large size wind park licenses and rejecting all applications that are violating several clauses and definitions in the relevant legislation. This is something the WENDY partners will further focus on for the pilot in Crete.
Minoan Energy Community Drives Wind Park Development While Engaging Local Support and Participation
Minoan Energy Community is in the process of establishing a 12 MW wind park, where actively involving landowners and the local community in the process.The next step is to present the project to the local citizens and the municipality to invite and encourage them to take part in the project. Minoan Energy Community has set a 50 MW target of wind energy for Crete and is in the process of searching for suitable installation sites. Encouraging citizens to register in the community or establish own energy communities is part of the capacity building programme, supported by the Regional Authority of Crete. This effort also enjoys the backing of a cluster of Greek energy communities which aim to aid the development of socially oriented energy communities.
This Wednesday, all the WENDY project partners gathered online for the third steering committee meeting. Although it is more enjoyable to meet in person, the online meetings are very time efficient.
The steering committee meeting takes place to make sure all Work Package (WP) leaders are in control, and tasks and deliverables are running as planned. Here, the partners have a chance to ask questions or raise issues related to the project work.
– It is great for me, as the project manager, to get these updates from all the partners. It makes it easier to see if there are something that needs to be adjusted or if there are partners struggling with their tasks, says Jonatan Peris Rivas, Project Manager at CIRCE – Centro Tecnológico (Technology Center).
It has been some busy last few months for the project partners with many activities happening in various work packages.
– This time we are happy to report that all tasks and deliverables are on track, and the partners will continue the work to deliver on time. The next big deadline in the WENDY project is at the end of September, so there is no time to rest for the partners the upcoming months, says Jonatan.
Last week, our partner Norwegian Offshore Wind hosted 700+ participants from 20 different countries for Floating Wind Days. During the event coexistence has been one of the themes being discussed – a key ingredient to achieve social acceptance for offshore wind.
Norways smallest municipality, Utsira, with just a few hundred inhabitants prepares itself to welcome Norways new industry adventure – offshore wind. In the coexistence session at Floating Wind Days, Business development director, Grete Møgster explains the proud maritime history of this island community located on the far west coast. Despite a relatively positive local attitude to the planned development, the inhabitants feel that they should receive something in return for giving up “sovereignty” of large areas of their marine environment, she says. This unique case is being used as one if the Norwegian focus areas in the Wendy project.
Last week saw the nine partners in WENDY meet at APPA Renovables facilities in Madrid to present how they have been progressing with the various tasks in the project and how they plan to proceed for the next six months.
There was a lively exchange of information and discussions on how to engage different stakeholders and on the methodology for developing the WENDY tools for the toolbox.
Several workshops among the partners made sure there is a clear idea for how to move forward.
Last week our partner CIRCE presented the WENDY project at EXPOFIMER, The International Renewable Energy Maintenance Fair in Zaragoza, Spain.
“Industry players in the renewable sector focusing more on social acceptance, and we experienced a lot of interest at the exhibition stand. Talking about how technical, environmental, and socio-economic factors impact social acceptance for implementation of wind farms, the WENDY project was a perfect fit at EXPOFIMER,” says Jonatan Peris Rivas, Project manager in CIRCE.
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