PROPERTY SEARCH

Date Published: 29/09/2022

ARCHIVED - Green light for more than a dozen solar parks in Mar Menor and Cartagena sparks backlash

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Accoif action group is up in arms over the granting of licenses for 14 plants in the Region of Murcia municipality

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Green light for more than a dozen solar parks in Mar Menor and Cartagena sparks backlash

Outraged residents and the Alliance of Campo de Cartagena for the Management of Photovoltaic Installations (Accoif) have publicly blasted Cartagena City Council's decision to grant licenses to build 14 solar parks in the Mar Menor and other areas of the municipality.

And the action group is urging the public to take part in a demonstration against the installations next week.

The new photovoltaic plant installations relate mainly to the District 1 zone, but also encroach into District 7, which includes a large part of the Mar Menor area and its watershed, a fact that the Alliance denounces.

Accoif has made it clear it "says yes to renewable energies, but not like this".

According to the platform, on September 1, during the last plenary session of Cartagena Council, the mayor, Noelia Arroyo, publicly stated that she "accepted the proposal issued by the Alliance in which she urged a halt to the processing of photovoltaic panels until the new General Plan was approved" and that any decision on the granting of licenses would be postponed until the next plenary session, scheduled for October 4.

Also read: Cartagena requests 5 million from EU for new bike lanes

"However, this Tuesday (September 28) an alleged agreement was made public with several companies for the installation of solar plants in the municipality, without giving participation to the 30 associations and entities that make up this platform," blasted Accoif in a statement.

The group goes on to denounce the "lack of transparency and dialogue with the citizens concerned about the development of the environment".

"The attempt to manipulate and misrepresent in favour of minority interests will not favour our municipality or the environment," it warns.

Accoif is now calling on the public to support a rally outside the Town Hall on Tuesday October 4, at 10am, to "demand land management and control, as well as environmental impact studies and studies of cultural and natural historical heritage for all photovoltaic projects".

Meanwhile, the mayor of Cartagena has asked the central government to act "urgently" to help local councils with the rising cost of energy, which she stresses "has increased threefold".

Noelia Arroyo has also demanded "an extraordinary fund for the extraordinary income that is being collected on account of consumption taxes", a request that is in line with what was formulated by mayors at the FEMP's governing board.

Now read: Mar Menor flooded with harmful fresh water following weekend storms

Image: Archive

Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox

Special offer: Subscribe now for 25% off (36.95 euros for 48 Bulletins)