It took a lot of persistence and pressure from the Hellenic Ornithological Society towards the authorities to take place two self-evident things in Mt. Akarnanika: on the one hand, for the Region of Western Greece, which is the competent authority to enforce licensing terms, to request the suspension of construction works for the “AMALIARI” Wind Farm (with applicability to all similar projects in the area, including the other wind farms of the "fragmented" project), due to the fact that the most important species in the area, the Griffon Vulture, is at the peak of the breeding season; and on the other hand, to be officially certified the blatant violations of the environmental conditions by the company “VOREAS Energy Community”.
From the document of the Region to the company, which was also sent to the Hellenic Ornithological Society, the following points are worth mentioning:
- It is explicitly noted that construction works are prohibited during the Griffon vulture breeding season, as this is defined in the Vulture Action Plan established by Ministerial Decision. This practically means that no work can be carried out until the end of June - early July, when the juvenile vultures are capable of flying and can feed on their own. This is the actual meaning of the related environmental condition: to ensure that the success of breeding process of the species, from mating to chick fledging, is not jeopardized by the disruptive wind turbines construction.
- Τhe local Police Station is notified to monitor the enforcement of the suspension of works.
- Local forestry services are called upon to re-examine, amend, or even revoke the decisions with which interventions and road construction plans were approved, so that they comply with the environmental conditions! In other words, Forestry Services appear to have approved interventions that do not align with the binding environmental conditions of the projects!
- It is certified, of course, that the environmental conditions, which are common for all “small” Wind Farms, have been violated, specifically regarding the road width (maximum 4 meters) and the height of road slopes (maximum 2 meters). The real issue, of course, is to be explained how the 4.8 MW power wind turbines, with a tower height of 83 meters and blades 65 meters long, will be transferred up the steep and rocky slopes of Mt. Akarnanika without continuously violating the environmental conditions of the projects!
- Finally, the Energy Community itself is called to account for the violation of environmental conditions and to demonstrate that the environmental damage caused is reversible (it will be interesting to see how they will prove that the deposition of inert materials, many tens of meters down the steep slope, is "reversible”..)
The –possibly temporary– suspension of wind turbine installation works does not mark the end of the effort, as the ultimate goal remains, of course, the full revocation of the environmental licensing of the projects, which the Hellenic Ornithological Society continues to pursue through legal and institutional ways.
It is, however, very important that at least the total arbitrariness and the blatant disregard of the legal framework are halted: it also becomes clear that the approval of such massive constructions in ecologically significant and inaccessible areas as "small" (category) B projects is actually a joke, since they cannot be carried out without violating the legislation.
See more about the timeline of the environmental crime being committed in Mt. Akarnanika: