According to announcements that have come to light, the reactivation of the investment plan (and indeed through fast-track procedures) for the construction of a large 200 MW photovoltaic park in the area of the old Kozani mines is foreseen, which will tie up an area of 5,200 stremmata. It is noted that the design does not appear to include the creation of infrastructure for manufacturing components and/or the entirety of the photovoltaic equipment, a fact which would genuinely create new jobs.
The Technical Chamber of Greece – Western Macedonia Section (TEE/TDM) points out that Western Macedonia, having constituted the central pillar of the country's power generation for decades by utilising its domestic fossil fuel, has developed a one-dimensional economic model reliant on the lignite industry. The progressively decreasing participation of lignite in the energy mix, as well as the reduction in installed capacity via the decommissioning of units—both those that have already taken place and those anticipated in the coming decade—lead unequivocally to a new era of transition for the region into a new productive system with new activities that will ensure the sustainable development of Western Macedonia.
Among the main requisites for the transition process of Western Macedonia to a new development model are:
- Maintaining the region's energy character by capitalising on its existing expertise and technical workforce through the development and application of new technological solutions, innovation, and outward-looking enterprise.
- The reuse of the lands that have been expropriated over several decades by the Public Power Corporation (PPC) S.A., which amount to 200,000 stremmata, with activities that will decisively contribute to the region’s new developmental model.
- The creation of employment and income to replenish the corresponding losses from the progressively shrinking lignite industry, as well as new employment opportunities in the region which presents the highest rate of youth unemployment in the European Union.
Of particular importance in evaluating investments of such magnitude, especially for Western Macedonia—where it is estimated that over 10,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs associated with the lignite industry have been lost since 2004 to date, with an equally negative forecast for the future—is their contribution to employment. It is estimated that this project will lead to a limited number of new permanent jobs and must be evaluated on a cost-benefit basis using socio-economic criteria, in accordance with the region's heightened requirements and alongside alternative solutions for utilising the designated area.
In addition to the above, it is pointed out that the Region of Western Macedonia, due to its strong dependence on the lignite industry and the necessity of foreseeing special policies, is now included as one of the three pilot regions of the European Union in the planning of economic and technological transition projects (Coal Platform). This specific project has not been put to consultation within the framework of this process, whilst, as previously mentioned, it will not contribute to the goals set for the transition of Western Macedonia to the new developmental model.
For these reasons, the revival of scenarios to implement a project with a negligible substantial contribution to local employment, notably tying up areas in excess of 5,000 stremmata without any consultation with the local society, is deemed unacceptable.
The Technical Chamber of Greece – Western Macedonia Section (TEE/TDM) points out the fact that, beyond the self-evident withdrawal of such “investments”, the Public Power Corporation (PPC), the Local Society, and the Central Government ought to cooperate constructively towards the realisation of genuinely productive business initiatives. A goal which is not confined to a local, regional, or national level, but now extends to a European level, and which we are all obliged to serve.