The Department of Environment rejected the application for the construction and operation of a 5 MW photovoltaic park of the company in the Municipality of Aradippou, blocking the further ecological degradation of the area. The relevant Special Ecological Assessment (EOA) report seals the negative opinion of the Ad-hoc Committee, considering that the impact on the environment is significant, negative and irreversible.
During the assessment of the impact of the proposed project on the Special Protection Area (SPA) of Koshi – Pallourokampos, on its protection objects and conservation objectives, it became clear that the construction and operation of the proposed photovoltaic park is expected to have significant, negative and irreversible effects on the SPA, mainly due to disturbance and loss of habitats of specific species and species for which SPA conservation objectives have been set. The proposed project will have a direct impact on the desired status of the species with a significant presence in the SPA, including the permanent loss and fragmentation of breeding areas, foraging and resting areas, disturbance and displacement of the species using the area, as well as the alteration of favourable conditions for the breeding of the species and the possible loss of nesting site of the species Buteo rufinus. The project is also expected to have indirect/synergistic effects on the desired status of avifauna species as defined by the SPA's conservation objectives, mainly increased nuisance due to the expansion of the road network and the EAC's electricity transmission/distribution network. Therefore, the construction of the proposed project cannot be approved.
The main reason for the rejection focuses on the immediate proximity of the development to the ZEP Koshi – Pallourokampos. During the ecological recordings, 55 species of birds were identified in the area, of which 9 are strictly protected by the European Birds Directive. Negative effects on the predatory species Buteo rufinus and Bonelli's eagle Aquila fasciata are expected. The potential effects for the bird population arise from the immediate risk of abandonment of the nest due to noise and nuisance. For Bonelli's eagle there is a risk of a reduction in available prey and a risk of collision with EAC overhead power lines.
