The government has endorsed the Regulatory Authority for Energy’s (RAE) rejection of an application for construction of a lignite-fueled power plant in the Koroni area of the southern Peloponnese, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas said yesterday. He said the rejection of the plan for the 600-megawatt station, submitted by Heracles Hellenic Energy, was largely based on the acceptance of environmental concerns of the local population. Also, according to RAE’s rationale, the installation would be at odds with the approved framework of zoning and sustainable development in the region, and would require the relocation of two small communities as part of the lignite deposits lies under them. The benefits from the project for the area, whose economy relies extensively on the the production of olive oil, grapes and currants, were projected to be significantly less than those under the local development plan.