Sylvia Trabert: A wind energy pioneer leading the way to hydrogen

More than two decades ago, Sylvia Trabert set out on a path that would redefine her life. What began as an early fascination with wind energy in 1990s Germany, evolved into a lifelong mission to promote clean power, and unexpectedly, a new home in Cyprus. Now one of the two Managing Directors of Wincono Cyprus, Sylvia reflects on a journey full of twists, challenges, and milestones she wouldn’t trade for anything.

From a “temporary” relocation that became permanent, to her latest bold step—spearheading Cyprus’s first-ever hydrogen production unit—her story is one of determination, vision, and the kind of quiet courage that shapes the future of energy.

How did you decide to get involved in the renewable energy sector?

Back in the early 90s, when the first wind farms were developed in Germany, I was fascinated by the technology and the opportunities to produce clean energy. With a group of friends, all enthusiastic about “alternative” way of living and energy production, we tried to develop and promote a small wind farm but were faced with all sorts of bureaucratic and environmental obstacles. In hindsight and with my today’s knowledge of project development, it was probably quite naïve to think that we could achieve anything. However, this episode planted the seed, sort of, of pursuing renewable energies on a more professional and knowledgeable level. So, I decided to give up my career as a hearing aid audiologist and studied electrical engineering with a focus on power engineering and renewable energies.

What led you to Cyprus? Was it an easy decision to leave your country and settle here permanently?

After graduating from university, my first job was in project management and wind farm development at a small firm in Germany that had some collaboration with a man called Makis Ketonis in Cyprus. During my first business trip in 1999 we travelled to all the potential sites that he identified for development of wind farms…looking back it was quite a memorable journey and I would have never thought that this place becomes home one day. Over the following years my company had maintained a close working relationship with Makis and after a change of employer (my previous company was wound up) we continued our engagement in Cyprus and decided in 2003 that my presence and temporary relocation to Cyprus could be conducive for the wind farm development. Little did I know or expect that this supposedly 2 to 3 year deployment turned out to be quite permanent and now, after 22 years, I’m still here and calling Cyprus my home.

Considering what an entrepreneur has to deal with in Cyprus, is the comparison with your home country inevitable, in the sense that there is less bureaucracy and organisation of public services there?

I think it’s fair to say that Germany is the master of bureaucracy with laws and regulations in place to serve the smallest detail and a plethora of forms that turn a simple issue into a complicated venture and nightmare. Obtaining a license in Germany, e.g. for a wind farm, is certainly time consuming and requires tons of documents to be submitted, but the process is transparent and fair. In Cyprus, back in the early 2000s, renewable energies were still in their infancy and practically not existing other than the widely installed solar water heaters. Hence there wasn’t any planning policy or guidelines how to go about large scale renewable project development. Nowadays we as a group and the entire sector experience a time consuming and sometimes frustrating bureaucracy and unfortunately also quite subjective interpretations of regulations often with the aim of hindering or delaying developments. So, like it or not, I would say that each country has its own peculiarities that you need to deal with and find solutions .

In summary, has your journey so far been easy?

I wouldn’t call it easy or difficult, but rather eventful and interesting. That’s what we all strive for, right? Pursue something, make mistakes, have setbacks and learn from it… at the end you may achieve your goal, perhaps a bit bruised but proud after all.

If you were to turn back the clock, would you do anything differently? Would you move to Cyprus again?

Absolutely! Despite some flaws of the system and things that are far from being perfect (and the some times unbearable heat in the summer), Cyprus is a welcoming, safe and easy-going place to live. I don’t regret having moved to Cyprus and certainly wouldn’t want to go back to Germany.

Do you feel that wind energy is undervalued in Cyprus compared to the advantages and benefits it offers? That is, that the general public is not aware of its value?

People quite often say that there’s no wind in Cyprus and insist that, with all the sunshine Cyprus is blessed with, we should have much more solar energy. Whilst I’m an advocate for all forms of renewable energy, it should be on the other hand a clever and well balanced mix that complements each other, e.g. production at times when there’s no wind or little to no sun. Such a mix, coupled with appropriate storage, could benefit the electrical network and increase penetration of renewable energies. Instead we are facing today a situation with an oversupply of photovoltaics that exceeds by far the consumption and due to the lack of storage (and must-run generation from the EAC to stabilise the network) there is a daily occurrence of curtailments and thousands of kilowatthours of clean energy wasted.

What are your next plans as one of the two managing directors of Wincono Cyprus?

Now that we have completed our second wind farm, the wind farm Kellia, we will concentrate our efforts on the realisation of the GreenH2CY project, which is an installation to produce and supply hydrogen for the transport sector. You must have heard about this pioneering project from my colleague Makis Ketonis. Since it will be the first of its kind, you may imagine that it’s far from being easy to promote a new technology, educate and convince government and administration officials, inform the public and clarify common myths and negative perception… and the list goes on. It will be a challenge and we don’t know if we’ll succeed….. but wouldn’t it be boring if the journey is easy and without obstacles to overcome?

For more information contact Wincono Cyprus Ltd, 71, Larnakos Avenue Centre Court, Office 301, 2101 Aglantzia / Nicosia, Cyprus, 22876699 οr visit the website https://wincono.com/