Summary

The municipality of Apokoronas has formally written to Greece's energy regulator ΡΑΑΕΥ and grid operator ΔΕΔΔΗΕ requesting full disclosure of any planned or licenced battery energy storage facilities within its boundaries, including a reported project of up to 200 MW. The municipality says it has repeatedly been left out of planning processes for major energy infrastructure — from high-voltage pylons to wind farms — and is now insisting on transparency before decisions are made. No confirmed plans have been published yet; the formal request is intended to establish what, if anything, is actually being prepared.

Battery storage plant of up to 200 MW may be planned in Apokoronas — municipality demands answers

Apokoronas may be the site of a large-scale battery energy storage facility, with a reported capacity of up to 200 megawatts — but the local municipality says it has received no official information about any such project. The municipality has now sent a formal request to Greece's Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water (ΡΑΑΕΥ) and to the electricity distribution operator ΔΕΔΔΗΕ, asking them to disclose everything currently planned or licenced within the municipality's boundaries.

What the municipality is asking for

The request covers all battery energy storage activity on the municipality's territory, regardless of scale or stage of permitting. The municipality specifically asks for information on submitted applications, issued licences, grid connection requests, environmental impact assessments, administrative approvals, and any public consultation processes already under way. It has also asked for copies of all available documents. The particular focus is on reports of a project totalling 200 MW — which, if confirmed, would represent a significant piece of energy infrastructure for a predominantly rural and agricultural area.

Part of a wider pattern, the municipality argues

The municipality's request does not stand alone. According to the municipality, Apokoronas has repeatedly found itself excluded from early-stage planning for energy projects: high-voltage transmission pylons and planned wind turbines in the surrounding hills are cited as previous examples. The addition of battery storage reports compounds what the municipality describes as a pattern of decisions being made about the area without the local community being informed or consulted in advance.

The municipality argues that this approach violates principles of transparency and citizens' rights to participate in decisions affecting their environment and daily lives. It has stated that it will review all information received and will use every legal and institutional means available to protect the local environment, landscape and public interest.

What this means for residents

No construction plans have been confirmed. The formal request is precisely intended to find out what is actually being planned. If the 200 MW figure is accurate, this would be among the largest energy infrastructure projects ever proposed for the Apokoronas area. The timeline for a response from ΡΑΑΕΥ and ΔΕΔΔΗΕ is not yet known.

The municipality has indicated it will make the results of its inquiry public. Residents with information or concerns about energy projects in their area are encouraged to contact the Apokoronas municipal offices directly.

Note: This report is based on a press release issued by the Apokoronas municipal administration. No response from ΡΑΑΕΥ or ΔΕΔΔΗΕ has been published at the time of writing.

PRESS RELEASE – Charalampos Koukianakis: "In the end, who cares about this place? Apokoronas cannot be the last to be informed about its own future!"

26 October 2026, 10:10 AM

Official request to ΡΑΑΕΥ and ΔΕΔΔΗΕ regarding the planned installation of electrical energy storage stations with accumulators, with a capacity of up to 200 MW.

The Mayor of Apokoronas, Charalampos Koukianakis, expresses his strong objection to the planning of energy projects that may burden Apokoronas without substantive and timely information being provided to the local community. He does so through an official document addressed to the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water (ΡΑΑΕΥ) and to ΔΕΔΔΗΕ, requesting full information on any planned or licenced electrical energy storage stations with accumulators within the administrative boundaries of the Municipality.

The request covers all relevant activity, regardless of capacity and stage of licensing, with particular emphasis on information regarding a possible plan for installations of a total capacity of 200 MW. The Municipality requests specific data on applications, licences, grid connection requests, Environmental Impact Studies, administrative approvals and public consultation procedures, as well as the provision of all available documents. Apokoronas — one place, many energy pressures, and local communities on the margins?

This specific intervention is a clear institutional act of responsibility and vigilance in the face of a planning process that, if confirmed in its full extent, raises serious questions about the future of Apokoronas.

The high-voltage pylons, the planned wind turbines on our mountains and now the information being investigated regarding energy storage installations together compose a picture that cannot leave anyone indifferent.

The energy transition cannot mean that a place is led to its complete annihilation while its people learn after the fact what is being planned for their land, their natural environment and their daily lives. We are faced with the imposition of plans without transparency, without substantive information and without genuine respect for local communities.

Apokoronas is a place we are obliged to protect, not to surrender to a planning process that ignores its particularities, and transparency is an obligation, citizens' participation is a right. Our place cannot proceed on the basis of rumours, fragmentary information and faits accomplis. Citizens are entitled to know in good time what is planned for their place and to have a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their future. The Municipality will evaluate every available piece of information and will act, within the scope of its competences, with every lawful and institutional means available for the protection of the environment, the landscape and the public interest.

And the question remains: In the end, who cares about this place?

We care about it and we have a duty to defend it.

Because our place is our homeland and for our homeland we do not decide without its people.

Charalampos Koukianakis – Mayor of Apokoronas