With no substantive response from the government, the debate in Parliament (June 22, 2025) on the installation of 30 wind turbines on Kythira within a Natura 2000 protected area. The New Left MP Nassos Iliopoulos submitted a topical question to the Deputy Minister of the Environment Niko Tsafo, focusing on delay in the signing of Special Environmental Study (SES) 7A, which expressly prohibits the project.
«Will the government or TERNA respond?»
Heliopoulos used data to highlight the institutional and environmental shortcomings of the case, emphasizing that:
The study is available open for public comment starting in 2023 and has been delivered with the changes already incorporated since April.
The Kythira region is one of the three most important migratory routes for birds in Greece, according to international organizations.
There is express prohibition such projects in the protection zone, even under the 2020 legislative framework (Law 4685/20).
There are pending appeals, and there has been negative opinion from OFYPEKA.
With sharp irony and a clear political edge, Iliopoulos wondered whether:
«Are you responding as the government or as representatives of TERNA? Should I send the question to the company’s press office so we can find out what the ministry will ultimately do?»
Tsafos did not respond—neither regarding the EPM nor regarding the ministry’s stance
The deputy minister avoided to even mention on the substance of the Special Environmental Study, stating vaguely that the process «is under review,» as is the opinion of the Ministry of Environment, Energy, and Climate Change. He did not respond:
Nor because It has not been signed the study that prohibits the project,
Not even if the delay is political choice so that the company can obtain its license,
Nor is it clear whether the statements made by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Mr. Varelidis, regarding the signing of the EPM «by September» are true.
His embarrassment was obvious, and his only substantive comment was:
«I can't tell you what the outcome of the evaluation will be...»
Yesterday's discussion confirms that the government has no political intention of institutionally safeguarding Kythira opposed to the installation of wind farms in a Natura area. The the ministry's silence It is loud—and, as it turns out, perhaps even louder than the wind turbines that some people are planning to install on the island’s mountains.
Kythera.News will continue to closely follow the case.
The local movement to protect the island is now called upon to step up its efforts—before Kythira’s environmental footprint is lost forever.
