A great distinction, a great European Award for the Municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands
For three years now, the Municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands has entered the map of the utilization of European programs and funding. This is confirmed every day and was confirmed once again with the award of the Municipality in the context of the European «Islands Gamechanger Award» for the project «Just clean energy transition of Diapontia Islands – J.E.D.I.».
This is a funding proposal that was submitted by the Municipality of Central Corfu and Deputy Mayor Panagiota Tzanne to the European financing mechanism «New Energy Solutions Optimized for Islands – NESOI» and was approved, receiving the highest score at the European level.
The project cover:
1) The complete decarbonization of the autonomous electrical systems of the islands of Ereikoussa and Othonoi with the creation of a hybrid power plant (HPP) on each of these islands consisting exclusively of a combination of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) but also the storage of the energy produced, in positions that will be chosen jointly by the Municipality and the residents.
2) The transformation of the port in Mathraki into a “smart” Marina, which will have electric vehicle charging stations, a small desalination unit, new energy-efficient lighting as well as green waste collection points.
The possibility of creating an Energy Community (ECOIN) is also being studied with the participation of the Municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands and possibly DEI, as well as with the possibility of the participation of natural and legal persons from the islands.
There is already funding of 60,000 euros for the studies.
At this moment, the preliminary technical-economic studies have been completed for these three small islands with the contribution of the DAFNI network, the National Center for Research & Technological Development, and two European organizations.
Thanks to this award, the Municipality of Central Corfu will receive additional technical support from the Secretariat of the “Clean Energy for European Islands” Initiative with the aim of further maturing the project.
In her statement, the responsible Deputy Mayor Ms. Tzanne emphasizes: “For three years now, the Municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands has been utilizing European resources and programmes. There are long gone the days when Corfu was isolated, miserable, and introverted. This award is a vindication of our efforts. Especially for a project for the Diapontian Islands that we have been fighting for a long time, its maturation is progressing and it is a given that it will also be included in a financial program to be implemented.”
Also, the specific project is included as an action in the commitments of the Municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands in the framework of its participation in the European Commission programme «100 Intelligent Cities Challenge – ICC», where, among other choices, the Municipality has also chosen as a thematic axis the «Scaling up renewable energy solutions / energy-efficiency», where representatives of the Municipality in the local team of the ICC are as Project Manager, the Deputy Mayor for European Affairs, Development and Digital Governance Mrs. Panagiota Tzanne and as Assistant Project Manager, and as Assistant Project Manager, the Scientific Advisor Mr. Victor Dimoulis.