Joint Press Release: Don’t Clip Their Wings

Once again, the hearing for the annulment of the Environmental Permit for the construction of a Wind Farm at the location “Promachos” on Mount Vernon (Vitsi) did not take place. 

The application for annulment was submitted exactly two years ago by the Society for the Protection of Prespa, the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature, the Hellenic ORNITHOLOGICAL Society, ARCTUROS, and the Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos (MedINA). 

The hearing, scheduled for 19 November 2025—after previous postponements—was postponed yet again. 

Since the summer of 2024, the organizations have also submitted an application to suspend the validity of the Environmental Permit, which likewise remains pending. 

The case concerns a planned wind farm approved for construction on mountain ridges that serve as a major flyway for pelicans, without any meaningful examination of the project’s potential impacts on birdlife. 

 For two years now, we have been asking for something self-evident: a decision based on the scientific data submitted, not on the demands of whichever investor is involved. 

 Even though the Regional Environmental Licensing Council had rejected the issuance of the Environmental Permit for the project—so as to protect “the flight routes of Dalmatian Pelicans in the wider area”—after an appeal by the investor, the project was reconsidered and approved by the Central Environmental Licensing Council (KESPA). 

KESPA concluded that “monitoring the movements of Dalmatian Pelicans with GPS transmitters has recorded very few (sic!)—approximately 15—fixes in the project area.” 

 Indeed, over the construction site of this wind farm, 15 GPS fixes were recorded from transmitters placed by the Society for the Protection of Prespa on a small fraction of the population of this emblematic species—while today even more fixes are recorded, as shown on the accompanying map. 

However, in practice, such numbers of GPS fixes indicate many more—usually hundreds—of pelican passages. 

Even in projects where no fixes are recorded by the SPP telemetry system—or only a few at the project boundary—pelican deaths have occurred under low-visibility conditions, which are very common in the mountains of Northern Greece.  

For this reason, when two or more GPS points are detected over a planned project, the Society for the Protection of Prespa provides its scientific data to the state and requests a Special Ecological Assessment, including an on-field ornithological study. 

This request is usually granted, but in the case of Promachos it was entirely ignored. 

The Promachos case sadly reflects a broader reality in our country: 

A reality of insufficient spatial planning for the development of renewable energy, an inadequate environmental Administration unable to properly evaluate the scientific evidence presented to it, and a justice system that systematically delays for years in resolving the disputes that inevitably arise. 

We call on: 

The Greek state to immediately prepare a spatial plan for renewable energy that seriously considers biodiversity protection. 

The Central Environmental Licensing Council to re-examine the scientific basis of its opinions. 

The Council of State to expedite the hearing of the case and issue a decision that takes into account the scientifically substantiated objections. 

The essential energy transition can be achieved without disrupting nature’s balance—through respect for ecosystems and biodiversity. 

The conditions leading to pelican deaths in Western Macedonia must stop immediately. 

The co-signing organizations: 

ARCTUROS 

Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature 

Hellenic ORNITHOLOGICAL Society 

Society for the Protection of Prespa 

Callisto – Environmental Organization for Wildlife and Nature 

MedINA – Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos