Dynamic intervention of the project in the first consultation by the Ministry of the Interior for the Siting of Offshore Wind Farms

The Ministry of Environment and Energy, within the framework of the National Development Program - Offshore Wind Parks (EPA-YAP), put the Strategic Environmental Impact Study (SES) on this subject to public consultation.

In December 2023, the issue was examined at the meeting of the Environment Committee of the Region of Crete under the chairmanship of the Deputy Regional Governor for Environment, Nikos Xylouris.

The competent Environment and Spatial Planning Service of the Region of Crete, having already been prepared for the issue through the "STEP AP" project in the context of its cooperation with the Polytechnic of Crete, decided documented with a recommendation to the Environment Committee, for the targeted rejection of the specific siting positions Offshore Wind Farms in Crete.

It became clear from the recommendation of the PECHOS Administration and from the Decision of the Environment Committee to the Ministry, that the Region supports the development of offshore wind farms in Crete for reasons of energy security and decongestion of the land area, however it disagreed with the specific proposal of the Siting Study of the EPA's YAP.

The main reason for opposition concerns the process of selecting the exclusion criteria and evaluating the settlement areas, in which specific criteria related to the particular cultural, environmental, demographic and economic characteristics of the areas were not taken into account.

In addition, what was particularly highlighted was the fact that the Ministry of the Environment proceeded with a program to develop offshore wind farms, i.e. the siting of wind turbines in a marine area, despite the fact that no national marine spatial plan has been drawn up in advance and while approval is pending of the review of the Renewable Energy Sources Spatial Plan.

The whole process confirmed the necessity and the value of the research carried out in the context of the Step Ap project of the Technical University of Crete in collaboration with the Region of Crete in the context of which an integrated approach is expected for the optimal sustainable siting of the offshore wind farms in Crete.

In fact, the corporate scheme, through the Step Ap project, is preparing to respond with specific zoning proposals to the next steps of the Ministry, which will come back with a consultation on the SMPE in each area indicated by the EPA.