Too many generators in little space

If just a few days ago the Supreme Court endorsed environmental processing From the Xunta de Galicia to reactivate 64 judicially blocked wind projects, it has now been a varapalo to the sector.

Short. The supreme has decided to provisionally suspend the authorization of the “Moeche Wind Park”, promoted by Enel Green Power Spain (Endesa subsidiary), after admitting an appeal of the Petón do Lobo Ecologist Association, According to Galicia’s voice.

On the tightrope. The same Galician medium has detailed that the 50.4MW installation was projected in the province of A Coruña, among the municipalities of Moeche, San Sadurñino and As Somozas. By exceeding 50 megawatts, the process depended on the State and not on the Xunta. However, the TS has stopped the initiative since it considers that its cumulative impact on the environment has not been properly evaluated, that is, the proximity with other macroprojects.

And more macroprojects. As the environmental organization has denounced, Moeche is part of a fragmented macroproject that includes other large facilities in the area, such as Barqueiro (126MW), Tesouro (50.4MW), Sanctuary (161MW) and Badulaque (102,4MW). In addition, the group has explained that the Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA) does not sufficiently analyze how these projects interact with each other or their global impact on the territory, How the Vigo lighthouse has had access.

Too many wind turbines. The supreme does not enter to assess the possible fragmentation of the project, it does consider that there is a high concentration of wind farms within a radius of 20 kilometers, being a total of 37 in operation and 62 projected, according to the vigués medium. In the court of the court, remember that the environmental precautionary principle should prevail: it is better to prevent irreversible damage than to try to correct it afterwards, although there is a restoration plan. In addition, there is a current regulation that stipulates that exist a minimum distance Among the parks.

Against. Both the state lawyer and Endesa opposed the precautionary measure. According to Galicia’s voiceThey argued that environmental risks were already duly evaluated in the Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA) and that the study took into account all the environmental parks of the environment. In addition, they denied that there was a fragmentation of the project and recalled that, According to recent jurisprudence of the Supreme, it is not mandatory to present all the sectorial reports in the initial phase of the environmental evaluation process.

And now what? The Moeche case has again reopened the debate on the development of the wind sector in Galicia, especially in saturated areas of projects, and about the need to perform more integrated analysis of the environmental impact. Besides, As reported expandingit is the first time that the Supreme Court agrees a precautionary suspension of this type, and does so by stressing that the “general interest” of advancing in decarbonization cannot automatically impose itself when there are reasonable doubts about possible damage to the natural environment.

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