Greece wants to make all of its inhabited islands ecologically friendly as the country pushes to meet a target of cutting harmful emissions at least 55 percent by 2030.
A nationwide campaign dubbed "GR-eco Islands" will kick off in Chalki, a small island near Rhodes in the eastern Aegean. Chalki will get its electric power entirely from a new 1 megawatt solar installation, the Athens-based Energy Ministry said. The island will also be provided with a small fleet of electric vehicles and equipped with charging stations.
Citroen is providing six EVs to the island. They include two Ami quadricycles for the police and Coast Guard, two C4 compact hatchbacks for the municipality of Chalki, and one Jumpy van.
Two of the vehicles will leased for free by the island for 48 months, after which Citroen will buy back the cars and donate them to the municipality, the automaker said in a news release.
Other automakers are working with islands on energy sustainability. In 2018 Renault launched a “smart energy ecosystem” on Porto Santo in the Madeira Islands.
The 18-month project included EVs, second-life batteries, smart charging, renewable energy generation and vehicle-to-grid infrastructure to work toward energy independence for Porto Santo.
In June, Volkswagen Group joined the Greek government in a similar pilot project on the southern Aegean island of Astypalea. VW's Greek importer will supply EVs for local rental companies and car-sharing services.
Electric shuttles are also planned, VW said in a news release, and the local police will get an ID4 electric patrol car. Electric scooters and electric bikes will also be introduced.
VW is also helping to install a network of charging stations and build out a sustainable electricity supply.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece said at an event Friday on Chalki that eventually all of his country’s islands would be carbon-neutral.
Island residents and the local municipality are expected to see electricity bills fall by a combined 200,000 euros ($230,440) a year, while carbon dioxide emissions are expected to drop by around 1,800 metric tons.
Mitsotakis’s administration this week approved the country's first climate law, which introduces measures to help offset climate change. Athens is also targeting production of 2 gigawatts of power from offshore wind by 2029 or 2030.
Greece earlier this year was hit by a series of severe wildfires and floods, which the government partly attributed to the effects of global warming.
Bloomberg contributed to this report
