ARCHIVED - Government green lights 270 million euro solar plant in Lorca, Murcia
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
The plant will cover 381 hectares in the Zarcilla de Ramos district of the town in the Region of Murcia’s south west
Proposals for a solar plant in Lorca, which were first put forward a decade ago, have been given the go-ahead by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
Madrid-based solar energy equipment supplier, X-ELIO, has been granted a favourable Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA) to commission the plant on 381 hectares in the district of Zarcilla de Ramos at a cost of 270 million euros.
The firm also plans to bury 15km of line underground.
The installation will have a peak power of 386 megawatts and create more than 300 direct jobs during its construction, according to company sources, who assured local hiring will be prioritised and that “numerous SMEs in the surrounding municipalities” will be involved.
The project has undergone significant modifications since it obtained its first favourable environmental impact statement in 2015, following objections from neighbours, environmental associations and the town councils of Totana, Aledo and Alhama. They raised concerns that “the high-voltage overhead line to transport the energy” would affect those municipalities.
The presence of an endangered bird that nests in the area, the common bustard, has been another of the obstacles that X-Elio has had to overcome over the years.
These changes include altering the line route to exclude Aledo, reducing the voltage of the line to 132 kilowatts and cutting back the plant surface area.
The developer will allocate more than 500 hectares to environmental programmes for the recovery, improvement and development of the habitat of endangered steppe birds, including the little bustard, but also the black-bellied sandgrouse and the lesser kestrel.
It also plans to carry out additional initiatives to promote the biodiversity of the fauna, such as the creation of ponds, drinking troughs and refuges for amphibians, reptiles and micro mammals.
According to the plan drawn up by X-Elio, in its first year the solar plant will produce 748,000 megawatt hours of renewable and sustainable energy, necessary to supply the annual demand of 215,000 homes, which will prevent the emission of 148,328 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Lorca Mayor, Diego José Mateos, assured “the vast majority of objections presented by neighbours and associations have been taken into account”, and hopes “the project becomes a reality soon and benefits the people of Lorca through job creation and environmental initiatives”.
He explained that “this is a project that began 10 years ago, in a process that has been very long and in which Lorca Town Council has also participated very actively, since the first proposals stipulated a greater extension and power and the evacuation line affected our municipality and also the neighbouring towns of Totana and Aledo... this Town Council has worked, as always, hand in hand with its neighbours and environmental protection associations to minimise the impact.”
He continued: “The power has been reduced by half, a large part of the route has been buried to avoid the visual and environmental impact on protected areas and a large area of land that was going to be used for solar panels has been reduced and is going to be a biological reserve, to preserve the native fauna.”
As well as the environmental benefits, it is hoped that the new plant will have a positive effect of the local economy: “It will generate many jobs, especially in construction, and the subsequent maintenance activity and the rest of the supplies that will be necessary. And, of course, it is a firm commitment to the use of renewable energies.
“The granting of this favourable environmental impact report by the Ministry of Ecological Transition is great news for Lorca, as the Ministry is very demanding and if it has granted this report it is because all the parameters of protection and the balance that must exist between the creation of clean energy and the protection of the environment and the landscape are more than met.
“Lorca City Council makes it as easy as possible for all companies that want to set up in our municipality and that want to create employment and wealth in Lorca. This government team has worked so that this project could go ahead in compliance with all the regulations: environmental, energy and the General Plan.
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