For months, residents of Cixsê have been protesting against a planned solar power plant project. An investigation by the Chamber of Engineers has revealed significant shortcomings in the environmental impact assessment.
Resistance against the planned solar power plant project.in the village of Cixsê, in the Kulp district of Amed (Diyarbakır), has continued for three months. For 91 days, residents have maintained a vigil in protest against the project, which threatens grazing lands, water sources, and agricultural livelihoods. An investigation by the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) has now confirmed significant shortcomings in the environmental impact assessment. The organization is calling for the immediate cancellation of the project.
Representatives of the TMMOB Coordination Council in Amed presented their findings during a protest in Cixsê. The findings are based on a site inspection conducted on October 14, during which experts examined both the proposed construction site and the information contained in the environmental impact assessment documentation.
Grazing lands and water sources at risk
According to Filiz Kaçar, a member of TMMOB’s Energy and Ecology Commission, approximately 30 hectares of land within and around the project area are used as grazing grounds for livestock. The installation of solar panels, fencing of the site, and construction of access roads would fragment continuous grazing areas and significantly restrict their use. The commission is particularly concerned about the potential impact on local water resources. The affected area contains a pond and several streams that are important for supplying water to livestock. The planned construction work could damage these natural resources.
Cixsê is also an important center for silkworm breeding and cocoon production. Alongside livestock farming and crop cultivation, this sector forms a vital foundation of local livelihoods. According to the experts, habitats of migratory birds such as cranes, storks, and swallows would also be affected.
Significant shortcomings in the environmental impact assessment
According to Kaçar, TMMOB’s investigation found that key ecological and economic factors had been inadequately addressed in the project documentation. These include existing bodies of water, the traditional use of grazing lands, biodiversity, natural hazards, and the planned energy storage systems. The organization does not fundamentally oppose the expansion of renewable energy, but rather its implementation at the expense of local residents and their livelihoods. “The transition to renewable energy is necessary. But an energy transition that ignores nature and life is not sustainable. The solar project planned in Cixsê must be stopped immediately,” Kaçar stated.
Fatoş Nujen Ayhan of the TMMOB Coordination Council also criticized the economic interests behind the project: “Cixsê’s energy resources must be used and managed by the local population itself. We cannot allow corporations to exploit our resources and then sell the energy generated from them back to the people at high prices.”
Incorrect photographs previously discovered in environmental report
The new findings have intensified the dispute over the approval of the project. As early as September, it emerged that the environmental impact assessment report contained photographs that had not been taken in the proposed project area. The Amed Bar Association and the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) subsequently filed a criminal complaint against officials of the environmental consultancy Global ÇED and the construction company VBZ İnşaat. However, the public prosecutor’s office in Kulp found insufficient grounds for suspicion of document forgery and closed the investigation. The lawyers appealed the decision. Separately, the decision approving the environmental impact assessment is the subject of administrative court proceedings.
“Our land belongs to us”
The DEM Party also supports the villagers’ resistance. Berivan Turan, a member of the party’s provincial executive board in Amed, warned of the long-term social and ecological consequences during the protest. She stated that the loss of agricultural land and natural resources could exacerbate unemployment, poverty, and migration. “The people do not want a solar power plant on this grazing land. They have been expressing their opposition for months,” Turan said. She placed the resistance in Cixsê within the broader context of local struggles against the economic exploitation of natural resources in Kurdistan, citing the vigil in Arzoxlî as an example.
“We do not want to lose our cemeteries, our culture, or our memories. We will not allow any further plundering of Kurdistan. Yesterday we were in Arzoxlî; today we are in Cixsê. Our struggle continues,” Turan said.
Remarking The local population would not give up its livelihoods, she stated: “Our land belongs to us, and we will not give it to anyone. The natural environment of Cixsê is indispensable to us. We are resisting the solar project because we want to pass this heritage on to our children intact. We demand energy production that serves the people, not projects imposed against their will.”
 
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