Wind Bag of Aeolus [Ασκός του Αιόλου]

(Greece; 1 hr. 23 min.)

[ Hit "play" button below, or click here to view or download as a 636-MB MP4 file) ]

Sometimes you have to open the windbag of Aeolus and unleash everything hidden inside.

You cannot conceive the beauty or the ugliness of this world when you are observing it from a distance. You have to approach, dive into its depths and explore ... it is only then that awareness and objectiveness are acquired.

Green growth was introduced to Greece round the early ’80s, when E.U. directives applied to Greek Government energy policy led to the installation of the first wind farm. Since then the number of wind farms has been increasing at an immense rate. The incentive for this investigation was the observation of wind turbines being inconsiderately dispersed across invaluable regions of the mainland and the islands of Greece, in the name of clean, “green energy”.

The main objective of this documentary is to shed light on the environmental, financial and social consequences of this policy and the aftermath of the so-called “high priority” investments supported by huge subsidies.

When examining the environmental aspects, one could wonder about the following: Which are the spatial criteria for selection of areas of installation? Under what kind of environmental assessment sites like forests, conservation areas, sites near traditional settlements or historic sites are approved as suitable? Why are those environmental assessments carried out mostly by private companies and not by scientists, and how are their results validated? Which are, if there are any, the obligations of the wind farm owners considering the removal of the turbines and the restoration of the environment and who sees that it is actually carried out? In other words, is this really a strategy or a predatory way of harnessing renewable energy sources? Could green energy under these circumstances ever be actually “green”?

Such an obvious lack of strategic planning raises more questions considering the financial aspects of the matter. Whom do these “strategic investments” really serve? Under what legislation is the constitutionally defined meaning of sustainability being annulled, when permits are being issued inconsiderately and subsidies are given out to one-person companies and affiliates of the same key companies in the energy field? Why isn’t there any consideration whatsoever of the actual energy needs of the country? Why aren’t those companies fined when they are not meeting their dept to land owners? Or, why is the ownership status scouted?