Environmentalists in central Cyprus have stated their opposition to plans to build a solar farm near the villages of Lythrodontas, Kataliontas and Mathiatis.

The Cyprus Environmental Movement said on Tuesday that while renewable energy sources and solar farms are “necessary for the country’s green transition”, the “continuous creation” of solar farms is “clearly destructive to the areas in which they are installed and also for the country.”

They also drew attention to the reported felling of 1,400 trees in an area next to a Natura 2000 protected zone near the three villages where the solar farm has been planned, calling it “worrying” and “unacceptable”.

“This is much more worrying and unacceptable since most of the land is property of the state and the audit service’s recommendations on the matter have not been followed either,” they said.

They added, “once again, private businesses’ profit cannot be placed above the common good which is intertwined with the protection of the environment, and, in this case, the forest.

“Whichever businessman behind this project may be, the state has an obligation to enforce the legal order and apply Cypriot and European law.”

They went on to say that the planned creation of the solar farm is a “serious mistake”, which, should it go ahead, would do so “in spite of the objections of the local community and environmental organisations.”

“We will all immediately suffer the consequences of this, and then suffer much more down the line, as this project, in combination with other similar solar farms planned in the area, will have cumulative effects on the area’s microclimate, flora, fauna, and the wider environment,” they said.