The hour of thruth for Kythira!

The company TERNA is now moving to the next stage, that of environmental licensing, by submitting the ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT to the Ministry of Environment for the project:

“Complex of three (3) Wind Farms with a total installed capacity of 135MW and maximum output power of 131.42MW at the locations ‘KARVOUNOLAKKOS – FOINIKIES’ (31.5 MW), ‘KORDELIDES’ (51.96 MW) & ‘XEROKAMPIA’ (47.9MW).” These are massive projects within NATURA 2000 areas with wind turbines of a total height of 250 meters, visible from everywhere, which will literally destroy the island.

In 2024, a SPECIAL ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY (S.E.S.) was prepared for Kythira by the Ministry of Environment. According to the study, the geographical position of Kythira, in SW Greece, at the southernmost tip of the Balkan peninsula, constitutes a very important “migratory bottleneck” in the central-eastern Mediterranean for millions of birds that make their annual migration during the spring months from wintering areas in Africa to Eurasia and vice versa during autumn. In Kythira, 35 species of birds of prey have been recorded during the two migration periods, out of the 45 species that have been recorded in total in the European area.

According to the study, the production of energy from industrial wind farms should be prohibited on the island as it is completely incompatible with its environmental value and poses a very great threat to the protected object.

However, although the S.E.S. has been prepared and the public consultation has been completed more than a year ago, it has not yet been approved by ministerial decision and furthermore has not yet become a presidential decree. Obviously, the investor is trying to get ahead of the final approval of the S.E.S., which prohibits the installation of industrial wind farms in the island’s NATURA 2000 areas.

The ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT is posted on the ELECTRONIC ENVIRONMENTAL REGISTRY of the Ministry of Environment (https://eprm.ypen.gr/) and its consultation expires on 9-7-2025.

THE HOUR OF TRUTH HAS ARRIVED! Until now, the island has shown unity, consensus, and incredible maturity as a society in facing the threat of this scale of projects, and for this reason it has had results. It is called upon once again, in difficult times, to show its teeth again and fight for its future.