The Agriculture Committee of the Cyprus Parliament discussed on Tuesday a bill proposed by AKEL seeking to curb the uncontrolled installation of renewable energy projects (RES) on fertile agricultural land.

The proposed legislation would prohibit the installation of renewable energy systems for commercial purposes within agricultural zones, while allowing photovoltaic (PV) systems that directly benefit the farming and livestock sectors.

Following the session, the Chairman of the Agriculture Committee and AKEL MP Giannakis Gavriel stated that the committee had raised the issue forcefully and exerted significant pressure on the executive branch to tighten the relevant regulations.

“Within the framework of the Agriculture Committee, we highlighted the problem and strongly urged the government to act. I must note and welcome the unanimous stance of all committee members in this direction,” Gavriel said.

Despite acknowledging the problem and the commitments made by three competent ministers to safeguard agricultural land through amendments to the ministerial order governing RES project zoning, Gavriel said that those commitments have not materialized.

He explained that although the ministerial order was amended and published in 2024, it failed to introduce any substantial changes, resulting in the continued unregulated expansion of renewable energy installations on farmland.

“None of the categories of agricultural land have been included in exclusion zones for RES projects,” he stressed, “and even the most fertile agricultural areas remain under case-by-case examination, as before.”

Gavriel added that the article-by-article discussion of the proposed bill will continue at the committee’s next meeting on Tuesday, with the goal of bringing it before the House plenary on December 4.

Responding to a question, he noted that agricultural land “has been filled with scattered photovoltaic parks from Deryneia to Polis Chrysochous.”