Cyprus unveils huge wind farm

Cyprus has moved closer to reaching the European Union's renewable energy target by 2020, with the birth of the first wind park on the island. Expected to be operational by the summer of 2010, the 200 million euro, 82 megawatt (MW) wind farm will be the largest of its kind in the Mediterranean region. "It is a very big project. Normally in Europe � especially in Greece and Spain � they consider 20 to 30MW a huge project, so 82MW is a massive project. It is the biggest in the region," said Akis Ellinas, chairman of DK Wind Supply Ltd. Once operational, the site will be home to 41 turbines, equivalent to producing 10 per cent of the island's total energy generation capacity. "Cyprus is not among the windiest areas in the world. I'd say we have something in the region of 6 meters per second and around 1,600 hours annually. But with new technology, like the Vestas 2MW V90 turbines which we are installing at the moment to the project, it helps," said Ellinas. "That represents almost three per cent of Cyprus's requirements toward EU regulations and targets."