The construction of a wind farm on the Runa mountain pasture in Zakarpattia has set a precedent that has exposed weaknesses in the construction approval process, the circumvention of environmental impact assessment procedures, and the disregard for the views of the public and even members of parliament. Now, lawmakers are initiating a review of compliance with environmental standards at all wind farms in the region, and government agencies are facing an audit.
This became known following a joint meeting of the parliamentary committees on environmental policy and European integration.
Fact: the construction of the foundations was illegal
The “breakthrough” was that the Ministry of Development finally acknowledged what activists and experts had been saying for months—that the installation of wind turbine foundations as separate structures was a violation of the law.
“DIAM has acknowledged that the construction of concrete foundations separately from the entire wind power plant violates the law. This means that the construction of wind power plants on Hostra and Vododilny will not begin without a positive environmental impact assessment, as was the case on Runa,” reported the "Save Pikuy" community.
Source: facebook.com/SavePikuy
The next stage involves inspecting the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Planning and the State Environmental Inspectorate, since it was through their permits that illegal structures were erected on the Runa meadow. This inspection is planned to be initiated by Members of Parliament, given that the decisions of state authorities allowed the developer to bypass the law and – crucially – the environmental impact assessment procedure.
Environmental inspections must be reinstated
Parliamentarians emphasised that any activity on protected areas, forest fund lands, or in the Carpathian Mountains must meet legislative requirements. This refers not only to domestic law. Ukraine aims to join the EU, so nature protection issues must also comply with European values.
The situation with the construction of wind power plants in Zakarpattia has demonstrated that achieving this is impossible without thorough state environmental oversight.
“Once again, we will raise, I hope with joint efforts, the issue of lifting the moratorium on conducting scheduled and unscheduled state environmental control measures,” noted Oleg Bondarenko, Chair of the Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management.
A separate issue is the need to simplify public access to local discussions of such construction projects.
Comprehensive review of renewable energy development
As stated by Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Chair of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU, this situation prompted a rethinking of the vision for renewable energy development, which must be implemented by the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
“I hope that all this will be in compliance with current legislation and our EU integration commitments, and that we will no longer see such environmental impact assessments as those on Polonyna Runa. I believe it is possible to ensure energy security while preserving protected areas, just as is done in EU countries,” the Member of Parliament emphasized.
According to preliminary information, based on the joint meeting of the two committees, the government may receive the following recommendations:
- Prepare a comprehensive report on the environmental risks of wind farm construction in the subalpine zone of the Ukrainian Carpathians. It is mandatory to take into account EU integration commitments.
- Inventory existing renewable energy projects to determine whether additional environmental assessment is necessary.
- Compile a list of all wind power plants in Zakarpattia region where, as on Runa, the foundation was constructed as a separate facility.
It should be reminded that despite all violations, the Ministry of Economy issued an EIA conclusion for the construction of a wind farm on Polonyna Runa. EcoPolitics covered various stages of this controversial construction.
