Cyprus will show no tolerance for unauthorised solar park installations, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou told the House Agriculture Committee, noting that “parks do not sprout uncontrollably”.
A Ministerial Committee has decided to tighten the existing licensing examination framework, with all applications now scrutinised carefully based on urban planning characteristics, Ioannou said.
The government froze allocation of fertile state agricultural land for solar installations in May 2023, whilst exclusion zones prohibiting such parks on agricultural land were designated through a 2024 directive.
Applications totalling 973MW capacity await evaluation, official data shows. In the Kokkinochoria area, where project over-concentration has been recorded, 20 of 30 applications involve state land. Environmental assessment is pending for these applications, whilst four applications concern land within British Bases territory.
The minister said priority will now be given to applications serving livestock and agriculture, rejecting requests that do not align with agricultural interests. “We have no reason to permit installations that do not genuinely support agricultural activity,” he said.
No project will be approved following negative Environment Department assessment, Ioannou explained. In cases of positive assessment, serious consideration is given to electrical grid connection capability and the presence of environmentally burdened areas.
The state does not proceed with leasing state land for solar installations, the minister noted, highlighting that the new procedure includes:
- Freezing concessions from 2023
- Designating exclusion areas
- Tightening application examination
- Mandatory grid connection
“No application has been approved by the Town Planning Department when there is negative environmental assessment,” he concluded, emphasising that strictness will be maintained for pending applications.
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