Save Aetorrachi village from disaster!

Iraklis Dimitriadis is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

What is it about?

Aetorrachi is a small village (421 acres) in the Elassona region of Thessaly, Greece. Aetorrachi was settled by Greeks fleeing the Ottoman Empire in 1923 and has significant cultural Pontic heritage and community importance.

A private construction company is planning a 1,100-acre 36MW industrial photovoltaic power plant (PPP) in the settlement of Aetorrachi, completely surrounding and engulfing the village. The PPP will be 3 times the size of Aetorrachi!

The current and former residents of Aetorrachi and their families want to save their village from destruction, so want to raise money to fight against the proposed PPP.

Importantly, the land to accommodate the PPP was paid for by the village residents who settled in Aetorrachi. It is not government land! In fact, residents planted trees on the land proposed for the PPP.

Furthermore, the electricity created by the PPP will be for private industry consumption and the village will not benefit whatsoever from the industry created.

What is happening?

The construction of this huge PPP has been licensed by the Greek state competent authority (RAE) and the regional competent authority. In December 2022, the Aetorrachi Residents’ Committee agreed to challenge the unfair and disappointing decision to construct this huge PPP in Aetorrachi. The committee has engaged a law firm to file a petition for the annulment before the Council of State (CoE) for its unfair decision to approve the PPP.

The committee is seeking funding to undertake legal proceedings to stop the destruction of Aetorrachi and prevent the PPP from being constructed.

Why you should care

The village of Aetorrachi will be forever destroyed if the PPP goes ahead. The legacy of Aetorrachi’s forefathers will be destroyed if the PPP is constructed. Aetorrachi will be catastrophically impacted by the PPP. Aetorrachi will be subject to catastrophic and significant environmental, social and economic impacts. Such impacts include:

Forest - Topography: The PPP raises a serious issue of increased flooding incidents damaging residents' properties and potentially causing loss of life. The area described in the application for the installation of the PPP is crossed by 7 torrents and streams starting from the mountain. Concrete PPP bases, fencing and embankments will interrupt and transversely disrupt the natural flow of rainwater.
Natural environment: The PPP allows the destruction of hundreds of native trees (>600 trees), causing environmental impacts on biodiversity in general due to the clearing, fencing and associated works. It also cuts off the movement of wildlife from the Natura area of Elassona.
Land use: It annuls the acts of distribution of the said settlement land to the inhabitants for their use. Aetorrachi Residents Committee has filed documentary evidence which proves that the refugees of the settlement have paid and repaid all debts imposed on them for the lands where the PPP is planned to be installed.
Anthropogenic environment: It creates a strong visual disturbance due to its proximity to the village (150 meters from the boundaries of the settlement! This will affect the human health of Aetorrachi and surrounding settlements’ residents.
Economic activity: It drastically limits the grazing areas for fifteen (15) local livestock enterprises with a total of 5,970 sheep and goats and 356 cattle that have been active for decades in the area and produce the raw material for the famous and internationally recognized feta cheese of Elassona.
Archaeological sites: It restricts access to the two declared caves of outstanding natural beauty and affects the natural and historical character of the surrounding area in declared local archaeological monuments (e.g., 17th-century Byzantine monastery of St. George).