Administrative authorization process

● Circular 3/2008
● Circular 2019
● EIA Law
● Law on Environmental Protection
● Min. Decree 62/2016
● Min. Decree 376/2019
● Law on Regulation of Streets and Buildings
● Min. Decree 281/2013
● Law on Urban and Spatial Planning

The administrative authorization process foresees the issue of the planning permission by the Planning Authority. For this permission, the EIA approval is necessary. Furthermore, plant developers should apply for a building permit from the Local Authority.
According to the Law on Urban and Spatial Planning, plant developers submit an application for a ‘Preliminary Decision’ to the Planning Authorities (art. 25 par. 8 Law on Urban and Spatial Planning).
The next important step in the administrative authorization process is the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). EIA Law distinguishes between two categories of projects:
● Projects required to provide preliminary EIA information (preliminary EIA). This category includes onshore wind projects with capacity below 10 MW and ground-mounted PV with capacity below 500 kW in the environmental protection zone or in the agricultural zone (Annex II EIA Law).
● Projects required to submit an EIA study. This category includes onshore wind projects with capacity above 10 MW, ground-mounted PV with capacity above 1 MW and ground-mounted PV with capacity between 500 kW and 1 MW in the environmental protection zone or in the agricultural zone (Annex I EIA Law).
The authority responsible for the EIA, both preliminary EIA and EIA study, is the environmental authority, i.e., the Director of the Environment Department of the MOA (art. 23 EIA Law).
The preliminary EIA contains only basic information about the project and possible environmental impacts as specified in Annex IV of the EIA Law (art. 24 EIA Law). After examining the preliminary EIA information, the environmental authority formulates its opinion and forwards it to the Planning Authority (art. 24 EIA Law).
The EIA study is more comprehensive than preliminary EIA information. The EIA study must include detailed information about the project and its possible environmental impacts (art. 26 EIA Law). Prior to its submission, the EIA study should be available for public consultation (art. 26 par. 7 EIA Law).
The environmental authority examines the submission and forwards it to the EIA Committee (art. 28 EIA Law).
The EIA Committee formulates an opinion on the EIA study (art. 29 EIA Law). The environmental authority then forwards its opinion to the Planning Authority and make it decision (art. 29 EIA Law).
In parallel with the EIA approval process (i.e., the positive opinion by the Environmental Committee), the plant developer should submit an application for a planning permission to the Planning Authority (art. 21 Law on Urban and Spatial Planning in conjunction with Min. Decree 62/2016). After a consultation with any local or central authority that may have an opinion and a legal interest in the realisation of the RES project, the Planning Authority issues its planning decision (art. 7 Min. Decree 62/2016).
Certain PV systems in Cyprus are exempt from the obligation to obtain a planning permission. This concern:
● all rooftop PV systems (Circular 3/2008)
● ground-mounted PV installations built in the industrial zone
● ground-mounted PV installation with the total installed capacity up to 150 kW (Min. Decree 376/2019).
Finally, the plant developer should apply to the Planning Authority for a building permit (chapter 86 Law on Regulation of Streets and Buildings). The Planning Authority examines the application and issues or rejects the building permit.
The building permit has a duration of 3 years (art. 5 Law on Regulation of Streets and Buildings). PV systems with the installed capacity of up to 20 kW are exempt from the obligation of obtaining a building permit (Min. Decree 281/2013).

● Municipal/ Local Planning Authorities
● the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment (MOA)