The application for the creation of a photovoltaic park in Maroni was rejected.
The rejection of the relevant application is significant as it is linked to an earlier decision by the Ministers of Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce not to license photovoltaic parks in reforestation areas, and it is expected that similar applications will be judged on the same basis in the future.
The development arises from a response by the Minister of Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, to a question from Larnaca MP Christos Orphanides, and the following are mentioned therein: The application of the company “Main Group Europe Ltd” for the construction of a photovoltaic park in the community of Maroni in the Larnaca District was submitted to the Department of Town Planning and Housing on 22.02.2022, and its examination is pending.
Taking into account the decision of the Ministers of Interior, Agriculture, and Environment and Energy not to license photovoltaic parks in reforestation areas, both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Larnaca District Administration recommend a negative treatment of the application under consideration.
The Minister of Interior explains that the Ministry of Agriculture and the Larnaca District Administration have negative opinions, firstly because the plot of the proposed development is located in a reforestation area and secondly because it is in close proximity to the nearest residential zone.
In Orphanides’ question, reference was made to information according to which in the community of Maroni in the Larnaca District (on plot number 27, Φ/ΣΧ2-233-347) located within reforestation, the construction of a photovoltaic park with a capacity of 3.623MWp by “Main Group Europe Ltd” is planned.
Based on this information and given the decision not to create photovoltaic parks within reforestation plots, the Minister of Interior is asked to inform the House of Representatives about what he intends to do to prevent the said project.
This decision is considered given that it will be followed in similar cases, and it is not excluded that new applications may not be submitted based on it, as their outcome seems predetermined.
