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CostaBlancaPeople 10th - 16th January 2023
10TH - 16TH JANUARY 2023 - EDITION 974
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Your Essential Weekly Read
Plans for local solar farms scuppered The regional Ministry for Ecological Transition has refused plans to build two solar energy farms in the Sierra Escalona. In a statement the Ministry said that it was concerned about the environmental impact on the protected area. The proposed sites would take up more than 300 hectares of land in the Sierra Escalona the largest countryside area in the Vega Baja region.
The Ecological Transition Ministry said “The plants would have a significant adverse impact on the landscape and the environment, especially in the protected area of the Sierra Escalona and its surroundings.” The Ministry ruling pointed out that the Sierra Escalona was classified as a protected area by the Valencian government in 2018 and was ‘one of
the most relevant areas’ in the Valencia region. The statement continued “The proximity to wetlands in Torrevieja and San Pedro del Pinatar enriches the birdlife that passes and is seen in the area regularly.”
In theory the government’s Energy Ministry could overturn the decision, but that is viewed as highly unlikely. The application for the plants in Torremendo had been funded by the Atitlan investment fund and the Bibey
and Itel project applications were regarded as leading proposals for solar plants farms in the Vega Baja region that are said to total around 25. The solar plans produced an unfavourable environmental report from the Valencian government, as well as submissions from groups like from the Friends of Sierra Escalona(ASE). ASE President, Miguel Angel Pavon, said “This is a good start for 2023 for the Sierra Escalona and sets a good precedent for the processing of around a dozen other solar farm applications that would affect the area.” The refusal follows the recent announcement that five new solar farms are being considered for the surrounding area of the Lagunas de La Mata and Torrevieja Natural Park, as well as the Hoyo Serrano and area later this year. In total, there are nine plants in the same area and in just one month, seven new planning requests have been submitted in the Vega Baja taking the number of projects from 25 to 32. As with the Sierra Escalona farms, it is a foregone conclusion that all the planning applications will be contested by a variety of environmental and neighbourhood groups, who will hope that the Ministry will once again deny the applications.