Filenews 25 May 2025 - by Chrysanthos Manoli
The need for the rapid installation of electricity storage systems from photovoltaic or wind farms that are already in operation is considered urgent and the Government, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of the Interior, is ready to issue a ministerial decree in the next 2-3 days, which will allow the installation of batteries without the issuance of a new urban planning permit.
The aim is to make it easier for owners and managers of existing RES parks to avoid the time-consuming bureaucracy for the issuance of a planning permit and to install storage systems as quickly as possible, reducing electricity cuts from their systems.
The Decree has been prepared after representations by green energy producers to the Ministry of Energy for the acceleration of the procedures for the installation of batteries and will be signed by the Minister of the Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, as it concerns urban planning legislation.
What the Decree says
As Fileleftheros is informed, the basic provisions of the Decree that will be issued at the beginning of the week that enters tomorrow are the following:
– The Decree applies to the installation of an energy storage system, in combination with a project for the production of electricity from renewable energy sources that has secured a Planning Permit and/or a Building Permit, provided that the area of the required installations for the storage system will not exceed 20 sq.m. and the height of 3 m.
– No such development will be installed within the surroundings of a declared Listed Building or a declared Ancient Monument, Controlled Areas according to the Law on Antiquities, Archaeological Site Protection Zones, plots for which a Tree Protection Decree has been published, Airport Special Zone, surrounding heliport area, surrounding area of a military installation, project or area of the Ministry of Defence.
-Any property falling under the provisions of this Decree shall be deemed to have been granted a permit by the Town Planning Authority for the construction of a storage system, provided that the provisions of articles (5) and (6) of this Decree are fulfilled and under the terms and conditions of Annex I of this Decree.
Article 5: For any development falling under the provisions of this Decree, the following must apply:
a. The energy storage system will be installed within a plot in which a permit has been granted for a renewable energy production project and the terms of the planning permit have been complied with, in case it has been implemented.
b. The energy storage system shall not affect the formation, opening or widening of an interurban road, motorway or main artery.
c. The energy storage system does not alter the topography and/or altitudes of the natural soil and is integrated into the environment.
d. The energy storage system shall be at least 6 m away from the boundaries of the plot.
-In development authorized by this Decree, the approval of the
Urban Planning Authority is not necessary for all the matters referred to in paragraph 4(a) of article 22 of the Law.
Article 6: For developments permitted under this Special Decree, for the purposes of complying with the provisions of the Decree and assuming responsibility for the submitted data exclusively by the designer, the completed Solemn Declaration Form will be submitted by the designer to the Competent Authority. The Form, together with the rest of the
required data (as mentioned in the Form), will be submitted through the information system "HIPPODAMOS".
-The designer who has been appointed for a project included in the scope of this Decree, bears full responsibility for the correctness and accuracy of the data included in the required documents submitted to the competent authority.
Article 7: If the Urban Planning Authority deems it appropriate not to carry out any development specified in this Decree in a specific area or not to carry out any specific development, unless a planning permit is granted upon submission of a relevant application, then the Planning Authority may issue an Order that the permit granted on the basis of the new Decree shall not apply to such area or development.
