Cyclades: Andros and Naxos on the wind farm map

The new Special Spatial Planning Framework for Renewable Energy Sources was published in the Government Gazette, in ΦΕΚ 694 of Series Δ΄ of 19 August 2026, on the basis of decision ΥΠΕΝ/ΔΝΕΠ/89998/3072 of 14 August 2026. The text replaces the framework in force since 2008 and sets a time horizon of 2050. In Annex I, where the Areas of Wind Suitability are listed, the Municipal Units of Andros, Korthi and Ydrousa are included — that is, the whole island of Andros — as well as the Municipal Unit of Drymalia on Naxos. The inclusion of an area in the list is not equivalent to the licensing of a project, but it defines the framework within which future applications will be judged.

Article 5 of the new framework introduces a general exclusion of onshore wind stations on islands with an area of less than 300 square kilometres, with exceptions only for critical infrastructure such as desalination plants. Both Andros and Naxos exceed that threshold, so they are not covered by that particular provision. For the siting of wind farms a threshold of mean wind speed above 4 metres per second is set, while siting by way of exception outside the designated areas requires a speed above 7,5 metres per second and coverage of up to 1% of the carrying capacity. The maximum coverage is set at 4% per municipal unit for wind farms and at 1,5% per Regional Unit for photovoltaics. Exclusion zones remain the priority habitats of the Natura network, altitudes above 1.200 metres, archaeological sites, bathing shores, untrodden beaches and sources of drinking water.

For Andros, the publication directly raises a question of political credibility. On 1 August 2026, at an event on the island, Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis had stated that Andros would be excluded from the new spatial framework. Eighteen days later, the text published contains no such exclusion by name, while the island’s three municipal units appear on the suitability list. The president of the Andros Municipal Council, Nikos Moustakas, called an emergency session with the Gazette publication as its only item. On Naxos, where the Municipal Council has already issued a unanimous resolution against the installation of wind turbines, the inclusion of Drymalia revives a dispute that has lasted for years and concerns the island’s mountain massif, livestock-farming uses and the access roads such projects require.

The framework provides for transitional provisions: projects already in operation continue as normal, while existing permits are judged under the previous regime. No timetable has been announced for any amendment of the text, nor has it been made known whether the Ministry of Environment and Energy intends to return to the issue of islands that exceed 300 square kilometres. The two municipalities have at their disposal the route of resolutions and, possibly, of an appeal to the Council of State, an option that has been used in the past for spatial planning decisions. So far there has been no public statement from the ministry on the divergence between the announcement of 1 August and the content of the Gazette publication.