A microgrid proposal for Greece’s non-interconnected islands presented by US energy company Tesla officials at the energy ministry yesterday appears likely to be developed on Limnos, in the northern Aegean, regarded as suitably sized and populated for this pilot project.

DEDDIE/HEDNO, the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator, intends to stage an international tender in spring for the development an energy self-sufficient island. At yesterday’s meeting, energy minister Giorgos Stathakis invited Tesla to take part in the anticipated tender.

Tesla’s microgrid presentation yesterday was made with Rhodes in mind but energy ministry officials described this island as an inappropriate choice for the pilot project given its heavy summer tourism. This brought Limnos, a quieter yet sizable island, into the picture.

Limnos is Greece’s eighth largest island, measuring 476 square kilometers, while its coastline is the country’s fourth longest.

These dimensions, along with the island’s relatively lower electricity demand in the summer, make Limnos a more suitable location for the installation of a microgrid system, Greek officials noted.

Tesla’s microgrid solution, dubbed Powerpack and based on solar panels and large-capacity batteries, has already been developed on American Samoa, unincorporated US territory including five main islands in the South Pacific Ocean, as a replacement for inefficient diesel-fueled generators consuming 1,400 liters of diesel per day.