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At 1.04 GW, Dama Solar would currently be the largest photovoltaic system in Europe. The site in Romania’s Arad county is part of the Natura 2000 network, so environmentalists are fighting the project in court.
Monsson has developed a photovoltaic project that it hoped would be the biggest in Europe. Moreover, the proposed Dama Solar facility on the territory of the communes of Pilu and Grăniceri is envisaged with a battery energy storage system (BESS). But environmentalists from the Transylvanian Carpathian Society (EKE) disputed the environmental approvals in court. They want to protect birds and frogs and other fauna.
Four rejected complaints reached the Court of Appeal of Oradea, which returned two complaints to the first-level court in Satu Mare. It rejected one and deferred the decision on the fourth case. The next hearing is on November 13.
Dama Solar in Arad county in western Romania is for a stunning 1.04 GW and batteries, in Grăniceri, of 500 MW in total capability. Monsson has sold it to Rezolv Energy, but stayed on board as support and, apparently, kept the land.
Non-arable land is good for nature
The company picked a site spanning 1,064 hectares of nonarable land near the border with Hungary. But such locations are good for nature, argues János Márk-Nagy from EKE, as quoted by state news agency Agerpres. He stressed that the group actually supports renewable energy but that such facilities must be positioned carefully.
Márk-Nagy pointed out that Dama Solar would be in a Natura 2000 area protected both as a bird site and a natural habitat. He added that species like cranes, storks, buzzards and eagles would be affected.
Dama Solar can integrate technology with nature
Head of the APM Arad branch of the National Agency for Environmental Protection Nicoleta Potrea said that being within a Natura 2000 zone doesn’t mean projects must be annulled. They can be conducted in compliance with regulations, according to her.
As the representative of the project firm, Monsson’s head of mergers and acquisitions Sebastian Enache claimed that the technology would be integrated with nature. He promised to allow local and beekepers from the wider area in, as well as to install environmental monitoring systems and enable birds and other animals to remain in the location.
Grăniceri commune collected fee ten times higher than its budget
The construction permit was approved last year and the PV facility was supposed to be completed by the end of this year. If the court clears the investment by then, works could begin in the spring, Grăniceri Mayor Petru Claudiu Bătrînuţ said. The equipment cannot be ordered at the moment, due to the court deadlock, because an advance of 30% of the costs would have to be paid, he asserted. In addition, delivery would take one year, the local chief underscored.
Earlier the project was valued at EUR 800 million, plus EUR 200 million for BESS. Monsson has said Dama Solar didn’t benefit from any subsidies and that it would partly be financed from loans. Grăniceri has collected a EUR 1.3 million fee for the construction permit. The sum is ten times higher than its normal annual budget.
As for the rest of the region covered by Balkan Green Energy News, Montenegro scrapped major solar power project Briska Gora in June. The reason was the failure of a tender, but the endeavor was also controversial over the potential impact on birds.
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