250 islanders in Greece now get 91% of their electricity from wind and sun

Agios Efstratios is a small volcanic island in the north-eastern Aegean with about 250 residents, and until recently every watt it used came from fossil fuels shipped in by sea. Ten months into the EU-funded Ai Stratis — Green Island project, the island produces 91% of its electricity from renewables, avoiding about 1,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. The kit is modest: one 900-kilowatt wind turbine, a 225-kilowatt solar farm, a battery, and smart management that stores surplus power as hot water for heating in winter. Resident Charalambos Makris, who runs two guesthouses, notices the quiet most — no boiler noise, economical heat. The EU now plans to replicate the pilot on other islands and in remote communities.

SDG 7 · Affordable and clean energy — Mechanism: infrastructure build