The Sijena monastery, in Huesca, is once again the subject of controversy. On this occasion, it is not about the dispute over assets that has been facing him for years with Catalonia, but rather about an ongoing project to install five wind turbines of 7 megawatts each in the vicinity of the monastic complex. A plan that has generated discomfort among the entities in the area, which have initiated legal action to reverse the initiative.
One of the opposing entities is the Villanueva de Sijena City Council, which has already presented an appeal against the resolution favorable to the project issued in November of last year by the general directorate of Energy Policies and Mines.
The council justifies its writing in the figures of protection of the monastery, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest and National Monument (1923), and states that the future wind farm would “severely” alter the general characteristics of the environment and the landscape silhouette, since the mills are located very close to the enclave. Specifically, they argue that the distance of the first wind turbines, more than 200 meters high, “is less than a kilometer and a half and, due to the difference in height, the visual impact is very severe.”
For its part, the Sijena Sí Platform has filed several appeals against this 35 MW wind farm, considering that its erection would “seriously” alter the landscape beauty of the monastic complex, which has remained uninhabited since the Sisters of Belén decided to abandon it in 2020. not being able to make his life of “silence, solitude and prayer” compatible with the tourist orientation that was given to him after the return of part of the assets in dispute.
“The height of the mills is spectacular: 200 meters. To get an idea, it is necessary to compare them with the Pilar towers, which do not reach 100 meters. Located at distances between 1 and 2 kilometers from the monastery, they would have a tremendous visual impact, in addition to causing other problems,” this group transmits.
The platform recalls in a note that it already alerted the general director of Cultural Heritage, Gloria Pérez García, of this situation in the meeting held on January 3. In it, they expressed their concern about the “possible negative impact that the installation of gigantic wind turbines in the vicinity of the monastery may have on the landscape aesthetics and other dimensions of this national monument.”
With its actions, it emulates other groups that have also presented their own resources, such as the March 13 Platform – Aragón for Energy Rationality or the Platform for Sustainability of Los Monegros.
The Sijena Sí Platform, which does not speak out as such about the Central Government’s plans for the implementation of new renewable energy sources, does join the great concern that the way of carrying out these plans is raising among numerous residents of the area. Los Monegros region and many other parts of Spain. “Actions are being carried out that could mortgage the future of the area without sufficient democratic guarantees or consultations with those affected,” they argue.
In his opinion, “there is a feeling that Los Monegros will become a true ‘swamp’ of wind turbines without the energy generated adding value to the territory or guaranteeing more jobs and population settlement, given that this energy would be transformed into hydrogen. and other value-added products outside the places that produce it and suffer the consequences.”
