The construction of wind farms in Spain is not being a bed of roses. The Government’s energy planning seeks to multiply by 2.5 times the current installed power so that 81% of electricity is of renewable origin in 2030. Such deployment is causing territorial tensions. But, in addition, half of the files of large wind projects (of more than 50 MW, processed by the central Administration) are resolved with a negative environmental impact statement or are archived, according to data from the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
Of the last 39 projects analyzed by the central Administration in the batch that ended on January 25, only 20 of them (51%) achieved a positive environmental impact statement (the essential requirement to obtain administrative authorization); instead, 13 of them (33.5%) had a negative resolution and six (15.5%) were archived. In terms of power, files amounting to 57% of the megawatts at stake went ahead and the rest were resolved negatively or archived.
If the projects under regional supervision (those with less than 50 MW) are included in the total balance, 27% of the resolved files did not obtain the environmental impact statement or were archived (32% in terms of power in megawatts), according to the Wind Energy Association (AEE), which has analyzed 557 files since 2018.
The main reasons for these failures are insufficient information provided, the severe ecological impact that could be caused or the insufficiency of corrective measures to avoid ecological damage.
The environmental impact statements approved by the administrations frequently impose substantial modifications to the project on the promoters, with corrective or compensatory measures to safeguard threatened species (large birds of prey, such as the Bonelli’s eagle, the buzzard or the Montagu’s harrier) and others.
For these reasons, “changes in the design of the evacuation lines, burying the lines, the obligation to move the wind turbines or the elimination of some of these machines” are being demanded, says Juan Virgilio Márquez, PREPA’s general director.
“Before resolving an environmental impact statement, 75% of the projects undergo modifications that imply reductions in the surface area occupied or the volume of equipment to be installed,” say sources from the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
In the case of burying lines, the costs can be multiplied by more than four in relation to an airline. “It is very common for the Administration to impose the burying of a line and that makes the project unfeasible, because burying a line forces us to recalculate everything, and that makes it much more expensive,” says Márquez.
As investment increases, projects may run into financing problems.
“We assume that there is less and less risk of electrocution of birds in new power lines, but there are still many collisions and the increase in thousands of kilometers of power lines also increases that risk exponentially,” says Ana Carricondo, coordinator of the conservation department of the Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO/BirdLife).
This organization has been preparing a proposal on responsible renewables and two documents, in collaboration with the CSIC to make the development of this source of clean energy compatible with the protection of the territory and its habitats: the Decalogue for an energy transition consistent with the ecological transition and Recommendations for responsible planning of renewable energies on the earth’s surface. where no and where yes
In general, the installation of windmills tends to circumvent the protected areas of the Natura 2000 Network, “but the promoters see no problem in placing them on their edges, right next to the line of these natural areas, with which, in practice, the affectation on birds can be the same”, considers Carricondo.
Generally, the companies take into account the zoning map of the environmental sensitivity of the territory of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition (which indicates that it is not advisable to locate the mills in the areas of maximum environmental sensitivity), because placing the wind turbines there can be a dead end and full of litigation.
Promoters largely avoid placing windmills in areas of the Nature Network, but instead important areas for bird conservation (IBAs) tend to be affected: power lines do sometimes cross protected areas, says SEO/BirdLife.
Of the more than 100 projects to which this organization has presented allegations between 2019 and 2022 (those that it deems most worrying), 20% are less than a kilometer from a Natura 2000 Network space or within (the least). And, in addition, 30% of these are within a space classified as an important area for the conservation of birds”
“Obviously, these projects are not a representative sample of all the projects processed in that period, because they are the most worrisome for us, but they do show that the way things are being done does not allow full guarantees that there will be no impact on areas of natural or legally protected value,” says Ana Carricondo, who proposes a binding ban for areas of maximum environmental sensitivity due to “lack of planning.”
The most serious impacts occur because the parks are often located very close to each other. “We are talking about hundreds of wind turbines together, causing the complete destruction and degradation of bird habitats, to the point that it is no longer viable for them,” adds SEO/BirdLife. Relatively small wind farms already built are having a significant mortality of vultures and some eagles, he denounces.
What worries environmental groups the most are the macro-parks. “We find ourselves with a succession of parks, one next to the other, until creating a territory dedicated to wind monoculture, in Teruel for example, which, in addition to the environmental impact, prevents balanced socioeconomic development.”
Also forced by the need to comply with energy planning (and the strict legal deadlines to resolve the files), the ministry is approving positive environmental impact statements conditional on the presentation of subsequent reports on biodiversity (sometimes under regional jurisdiction) to better assess the corrective measures that must be applied.
“The problem is that haste can weaken the quality of environmental assessments, that impacts are underestimated or that they tend to be considered irrelevant when authorizing projects,” says Carricondo. The required corrective measures will depend on subsequent monitoring, without there being a public system “to carry out this monitoring effectively,” he adds.
Environmental impact statements usually incorporate work monitoring plans (with periodic meetings and information that the Administration must review) and, thus, in theory, if impacts and deaths of birds are detected, the promoter could be ordered to stop the mills.
The ministry points out that when the conditional environmental impact statement includes the request for third-party reports (as a prior requirement to carry out the work) “what is indicated in these reports “will be mandatory”. In addition, it recalls that “all projects have an environmental monitoring program that ensures proper execution”, so that checks can be carried out and information collected to verify compliance with these conditions”.
The projects rejected by the administrations include those of the Pisuerga, Rubagón (Palencia) or Cabeza Grande (Salamanca) parks.
Many times this suspense is due to the heavy damage that would be inflicted on the fauna (black vulture, imperial eagle or Bonelli’s eagle).
Below is a list of some of the most controversial wind farms, based on a selection of the more than 100 projects that have been contested with allegations by the Spanish Ornithological Society.
