Author: Ola Mitre | Citizens.al
"This pasture was our life. We used to collect tea, shubka, medicinal herbs there. Now they are taking it away from us with panels. Where can we take the cattle, where can we find food?!" says Luljeta Agolli, a resident of the village of Taç in Kolonjë.
With strong, tired hands from farming and animal husbandry, even though she is retired, she shows how the place where her generation has survived for decades is slowly turning into an industrial zone, covered in solar panels.
But Luljeta's story is not alone. In three municipalities in the Korçë district – Kolonjë, Devoll and most recently in Pogradec – residents are facing projects that aim to build photovoltaic power plants on forest and pasture lands, spaces that are their only source of livelihood.
These developments, which at the national level translate into investments in green energy and the transition towards renewable sources, at the local level have become a direct threat to livelihoods, the household economy, but also to the environment.
How were pastures given for solar power plants?
Until 2024, the leasing of forests and pastures for the construction of solar power plants was prohibited by law. However, according to a report by the All Green Centre, dozens of permits covering around 900 hectares of land were granted by the municipalities of Kolonjë and Devoll, in violation of the law, territorial planning and without conducting in-depth environmental impact assessments.
Only with the amendments to the law "On the Pasture Fund", which entered into force in December 2024, an added sentence allowed the construction of renewable energy projects on this category of land.
The changes were made at the request of Socialist Party MP Edona Bilali. The proposal was based on the high demands coming from the business for photovoltaic power plants.
For experts, this change clearly shows that the previous actions were illegal.
"When something happens and the law is changed later, it means that there is something that is not working. If we are changing a law for something that we have done wrong, then this is the second mistake that happens," says Kristi Bashmili, an environmental and climate expert and one of the authors of the report.
For rural communities, pastures are not simply natural spaces, but a guarantee of survival.
In Taç, residents say that in addition to livestock, the water that used to spring near pastures and be used for irrigation and domestic consumption in case of emergencies has already dried up. In parallel, the power plant construction site has blocked access to agricultural lands.
"Now they've closed it (the path) for us. This was our only way out: we would go to the fields there, they would get water there, we would irrigate with that water. They took it, they closed it," says Luljeta.
Even in Çërrava, Pogradec, the concern is great. In this village, over 20 families live off livestock. They have invested for years, even taking out loans to build stables.
"I have 200 sheep. Where am I going to take them?! They'd better take us too, make us sausage along with the cattle!" a cattle farmer from Çërrava expresses his indignation.
The Korça region is one of the most affected by permits for solar power plants, while data shows that the projects extend to forest or pasture plots in the villages of Starje, Shtikë-Butkë, Prodan, Rehovë, Qinam, Lëngëz, Qafzez or several plots in Bilisht, where the municipalities of Kolonjë and Devoll have already announced winners or signed contracts with private companies.
From natural to industrial, environmental impacts
According to the All Green Centre report, the construction of photovoltaic parks in pastures and forests has numerous consequences for the environment. This ranges from the fragmentation of habitats, which prevents the migration and movement of animals, to the change of the landscape, which turns from natural to industrial.
The impacts also appear on the local climate, as the large surfaces of the panels increase the temperature of the area and can change the microclimate. The impacts are even more negative in the context of climate change.
“[…] the natural absorption of water in the soil decreases. In sloping areas, this worsens surface runoff. Water flows faster over steep and bare surfaces, causing soil erosion, erosion of natural channels and leaching of its nutrients,” the report states, among other things.
"Also, water runoff from areas with photovoltaic panels can affect the flow in rivers below the area, increasing the risk of flash flooding in the event of intense rainfall," is added further.
Developments, without strategy
But, while the impacts are numerous – both for communities and for the environment – according to Bashmil, the allocation of these areas for power plants by the municipalities of Kolonja and Devoll has a significant deficiency in terms of strategic documents, which the municipalities themselves have approved.
"Both the territorial development strategies and the General Local Plans are not clearly expressed on certain areas where this type of development can be allowed. We must strongly emphasize that the General Local Plan defines areas that are natural or areas that are a priority for industrial development," says the expert.
"In most cases, we have conversion of territories, whether forest or pasture, to industrial areas covered with panels. This brings about what is a consumption of natural surfaces. From a regulatory point of view, they do not have a strategic basis and plans for how they will develop further," he adds.
In parallel, Albanian law requires that any such project be subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). But according to All Green Centre's monitoring, in most cases, this document is simply a formality.
“EIAs do not reflect any real change in the project, even when clear consequences are identified. They only serve to legitimize the process, not to correct it,” says Bashmili.
Also, public participation, a legally mandatory element, is almost absent.
In Taç, residents say they only learned about the project when the private company's bulldozers arrived, while those in Çërrava say they were invited to a public hearing just days before the Municipal Council put the project on the agenda. For them, the process was formal and without any weight.
Arbër Male, an independent member of the Pogradec Municipal Council, confirmed this claim.
"The consultation was a farce. Only two days later it was put on the agenda. We cannot be so insensitive towards these residents, who develop their economy, support their families. With this initiative, it is up to them to say: leave because you have no future here," says Male.
"I once again call on the mayor to cancel this event, as anonymous and shady businesses have undertaken to develop their personal economy at the expense of the residents of Çërava," he added.
Bashmili is also in the same line.
"The construction of power plants has an impact, not in the least small, on the ecosystem services that these lands provide to local residents. It is very important to emphasize this because local communities often depend on these services for their entire economy," he says.
According to him, the solution is not to ban solar energy, but careful planning.
"Municipalities should update their territorial plans and clearly define the areas where the construction of power plants is allowed, traditional pastures and forest areas used by the community should not be affected, while EIAs should be carried out with in-depth studies, not as a formality," says the expert.
“It is important to look at what are called decision-making solutions,” he concludes.
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