{"id":21547,"date":"2025-10-29T09:20:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T09:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spbt.gr\/?p=21547"},"modified":"2025-11-13T15:08:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T15:08:40","slug":"ekdilosi_aspie_deltio_typou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spbt.gr\/en\/ekdilosi_aspie_deltio_typou\/","title":{"rendered":"Discussion on the siting of wind power stations and their impacts on birds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Discussion on the siting of wind power stations and their impacts on birds<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Laimos, 27 October 2025<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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An event organised by the Society for the Protection of Prespa\u00a0took place on Monday, 20 October , at the former Town Hall of Laimos, Prespa,<\/em>\u00a0entitled\u00a0\"\u201cWind Power Stations, vultures, raptors and pelicans \u2013 Is coexistence possible?\u201d.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Journalists from national media specialising in environmental issues attended the event. Presentations were delivered by three environmental organisations, focusing on the impacts of wind power stations installations in habitats and movement corridors of emblematic species of Greek avifauna, as found in Thrace, the Akarnika Mountains, Prespa and across northern Greece. A common feature of all three presentations was the strong scientific evidence now available regarding the impacts of non-proper siting of wind power stations in critical habitats of threatened species, rendering its continued disregard by the State and renewable energy development stakeholders environmentally unacceptable.<\/p>

A welcome address was delivered by the Mayor of Prespa, Mr Giorgos Stergiou, who emphasised that he supports green development, provided that it respects nature. It is noteworthy that, following a public consultation process with local residents in the summer of 2024, the Municipality of Prespa took a formal position against the installation of new renewable energy projects within its territory.<\/p>

Lefteris Kapsalis\u00a0, scientific associate of the Society for the Protection of Biodiversity of Thrace,<\/em>highlighted that Thrace constitutes a highly important area for the three protected vulture species \u2014 the Cinereous Vulture, Griffon Vulture and Egyptian Vulture \u2014 as well as for numerous raptor species. Nevertheless, the region has been designated a wind energy priority area under the Special Spatial Plan for Renewable Energy Sources (2008), resulting in intense investment interest in wind power stations installations. The impacts of these installations are reflected in at least 662 recorded collision incidents involving raptors, bats and other bird species. Notably, four raptors were found dead following collisions with wind turbines equipped with automated collision avoidance systems, demonstrating that such systems do not constitute an effective mitigation measure. L. Kapsalis further noted that, two years after the Dadia wildfire, the necessary legislative provision to suspend wind power stations licensing in burned areas and adjacent unburned areas \u2014 which constitute critical habitats for raptors \u2014 is still lacking, as are clear instructions from central government authorities to licensing and advisory bodies pending the adoption of such legislation.<\/p>

On behalf of the\u00a0Hellenic Ornithological Society,<\/em>\u00a0Apostolis Kaltsis stressed the inappropriate spatial planning of wind power stations in Greece. Currently, within Special Protection Areas and Important Bird Areas, 29% of all wind turbines hold installation or operation licences (1,042 turbines). As a result of this siting approach, projects are approved that do not comply with European legislation (as acknowledged by the European Commission itself), while 70 vulture collision incidents have been recorded in Greece. He also referred to the case of the Akarnanika Mountains, which constitute one of the most important nesting habitats for the Griffon Vulture (an endangered species) in mainland Greece. There, the Hellenic Ornithological Society documented numerous serious administrative irregularities, including the unlawful fragmentation of a single project, the absence of cumulative impact assessments and, most notably, the scandalous misuse of the Energy Communities framework, an issue that has recently also been criticised by the competent Regulatory Authority.<\/p>

On behalf of the\u00a0Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP),<\/em>Olga Alexandrou focused on the negative impacts of wind turbines on birds when they are sited in areas characterised by high density and frequent movements of protected species. Such examples include the Dalmatian Pelican and the Great White Pelican, which travel from January to September to wetlands outside Prespa in order to forage. These emblematic species \u2014 among the heaviest flying birds in the world \u2014 cover distances of up to 200 km every 2\u20134 days, following specific routes that allow them to exploit thermal air currents and minimise energy expenditure..<\/sup>\u00a0(1st edition March 2022,.<\/sup>\u00a02nd edition October 2025), proposing exclusion zones for wind power stations installation due to frequent pelican flight activity. These zones were identified through the analysis of data from 70 GPS\/GSM transmitters over a 15-year period, resulting in the identification of the most important \u201chotspots\u201d along movement corridors. The Society will submit this scientific proposal to the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MinEnv) in the coming period, requesting its incorporation into the revised Special Spatial Framework for Renewable Energy Sources, which has been pending for many years.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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