The French company Akuo, promoter of the “Magda” solar project in Castellón, is softening its conditions in the face of the avalanche of criticism received in recent weeks. Thus, the company offers to finance an “alternative solution” for the evacuation line, a point of friction with the Generalitat Valenciana.
Through the General Directorate for the Natural Environment and Environmental Assessment – which sent a letter to the ministry headed by Teresa Ribera with its complaints – the Valencian government recognized that although the locations of the solar park did not directly affect the Natura 2000 Network, “the characteristics of the evacuation line are environmentally unacceptable”.
Now, the company agrees to modify this line and proposes that a modification of the planning be carried out, including a substation on the MAT route or re-including the Salzadella substation which, they explain, would mean reducing the high line to 5 kilometers tension, “thus minimizing the different conditions and offering to finance its construction,” they point out.
Asked by the Ministry of Ecological Transition about its position, it prefers not to assess the promoter’s steps and continues to await a response from the Government, which has not yet responded to the requests of the Generalitat Valenciana.
The general director of the Natural Environment and Environmental Assessment, Julio Ramón Gómez Vivo, signatory of the letter sent to the Ministry, explains that the unfavorable reports on the evacuation line are due to “notable effects on the Nature Network and on the species in the territory”. . They are therefore waiting for the next step to be taken by the Government, which should now process the relevant construction authorization after its favorable DIA. In this case, Gómez Vivo assured yesterday that the position will be transferred to the Generalitat’s Attorney’s Office.
Meanwhile, the company claims to be working with local administrations both to draw an alternative route to this line and to promote an agreement that guarantees academic training for young people in the area.
They also point out that the “Magda” will generate some 240 direct and 300 indirect jobs during the construction phase through the hiring of local companies and local investment, a particularly critical point on the part of the environmental associations that oppose the project. , and who defend that this will not guarantee employment beyond the time that its construction lasts.
Another thorny issue is the disappearance of active cultures. It was one of the criticisms of Compromís, whose deputy for Castellón Vicent Marzà recorded himself next to an almond tree. The “Magda” will mean felling 60,000 productive trees.
Now the company says it is making its experience available to the owners of the land to maintain agricultural activity in the area along with the production of solar energy, through a company it owns, Agriterra, which they say will be based on the local farmers’ skills and supply needs and will propose “resilient, organic and water-efficient practices”.
The Cooperativa Agroalimentària Sant Isidre de Les Coves de Vinromà, the town where this mega-solar park will be located, was consulted on this issue. So far, no one has contacted them to discuss this proposal.
On the other hand, they do explain that the project will devastate 15% of the Cooperative’s production and they assure that this would jeopardize the economic viability of the company, on which 10 people depend as workers. The Cooperative manages 200 hectares of production, and in each of them there are at least 200 almond trees, they explain.
