I liked my work as a photographer for a Greek travel magazine because apart from the obvious advantage to travel all over the country and enjoy its natural beauty, I was also able to learn a lot about the history and the particularities of each place. Like the time that I visited one of the first hydroelectric plants of Greece, built in 1923!
You can see that it is a very small river and a tiny dam but it was enough to transform the nearby town that in the era of construction didn't had much demand of electricity. Actually the company that operated the plant also organized the sales of electric appliances and created the demand!
I appreciated though the small scale of the project and the small impact on the natural scenery. And when I did the math (I am not an expert but I think I got it right) I was impressed by the fact that this small river could generate enough electricity for a small town of around 10.000 people.
On my way from the dam to the plant I took a few pictures of the farm land in between. Mostly vineyards and a few peaceful sheep grazing under the electricity cables.
The factory itself is a beauty! Why technological achievements used to be so tastefully built in contradiction of today's monstrosities? Or am I getting old and resent anything new?
In the pictures below you can see the plant's building and the pipe that brings in the water. I have even found online a picture of it, about 100 years old! I get upset thinking that this nice municipal project, designed to serve the community has now been sold to a huge faceless company.
The garden around the building is full of old pipes that are not used anymore. A testimony of the past and an introduction to the museum around the corner that one can see old parts and accessories of the factory.
A few meters away from the plant there is a small settlement abundant in trees and taverns :)
And after this small detour the water keeps going!
I was about to end this post but looking all this beauty I can't stop thinking the way we treat nature. We all know how dependable on electricity is our civilization and especially in an era of geopolitical turbulence this dependence is becoming more of a pressing need. It is up to our democratic, eco-conscious societies (getting a bit ironic here) to find clean and sustainable energy. And the market is ready to fulfill every need.
Articles like this one are the ultimate hubris of modern societies:
3 Reasons Why Nuclear is Clean and Sustainable
and yet they are becoming more and more common. It is a matter of time (I am afraid a very short amount of time) before nuclear plants start popping all over the place and all the true sustainable and clean methods will be treated as old fashioned and outdated.
I wish I am wrong.
All the pictures and the words are mine.
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
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