Environmental Impact Assessment of an offshore Wave Energy Park in the region Pomos, Paphos. Fratelli Giorgo Ltd

Environmental Impact Assessment of an offshore Wave Energy Park in the region Pomos, Paphos

The project concerns a commercial pilot offshore Wave Energy Park with capacity of 240kW. Based on the operation and cost – benefit results of this pilot plant (energy production – financial costs) will be decided whether it is viable and feasible to future develop a Wave Energy Park with a total capacity up to 200MW. The Environmental Impact Assessment evaluated expected potential impacts to the environment during the installation and operation of the offshore unit and mitigation measures were proposed.

Client: Fratelli Giorgo Ltd Cyprus

Region: Cyprus

Type: Renewable Energy, Environmental Impact Assessment

Duration: 12/2010 – 03/2011

Other Partners: –

The project concerns a commercial pilot offshore Wave Energy Park with capacity of 240kW. Based on the operation and cost – benefit results of this pilot plant (energy production – financial costs) will be decided whether it is viable and feasible to future develop a Wave Energy Park with a total capacity up to 200MW.

The Environmental Impact Assessment aimed to provide a high level of protection of the environment and to contribute to the integration of environmental considerations into the preparation of the project with a view to reduce its environmental impact. Expected potential impacts to the environment during the installation and operation of the offshore unit were assessed and mitigation measures were proposed.

At the same time the EIA dealt with the determination of the exact location of the off‐shore pilot plant, which could be used as a reference against the approved and available areas in the general Pomos area, which could accommodate the whole project in an environmentally safe and acceptable manner. Areas were eliminated that were environmentally sensitive or had a special interest by the locals either used for fishing or other recreational use in the sea region of Pomos.

The tasks that were successfully completed and the services that were provided were:

• Analysis of the current condition of the natural environment of the area, focusing on aspects of marine environment
• Analysis of the socioeconomic conditions of the area (population, economic activities, town planning, land use)
• Proposal and environmental evaluation of different alternative solutions to the project
• Evaluation and assessment of the potential environmental impacts that can arise during the project’s construction and operation
• Formation and proposal of suitable mitigation measures to address the potential environmental impacts
• Elaboration of monitoring plan to be implemented during the construction and operation of the project