The Platform of People Affected by the High Voltage Line and the Zarcilla de Ramos solar macro plant decided this past Tuesday night not to lower their guard and be alert to any movement by the X-Elio company, after the rejection of the Ministry for Transition Ecological before the proposal of this multinational to modify the project.During the meeting held at the Aledo Town Hall, the mayors of Totana and Aledo, Juan José Cánovas and Javier Andreo, and the representative of Ecologists in Action and the Association for the Custody of the Territory (ACUDE), Juan Luis Castanedo García, and the spokesperson for the Neighborhood Platform, Claudio Pallarés.
These institutions and entities support the demands of the citizen collective against the solar macroplant and the high voltage line.During the meeting, great satisfaction was shown by the Ministry's decision, published in the Official State Gazette on May 27, which considers that the company's proposal on the photovoltaic macroplant should be submitted to the ordinary environmental procedure, since effects are expected adverse on the environment.On the other hand, they reiterated their commitment to the conservation of the natural environment and to threatened species such as the little bustard and others, that would seriously affect their environment in the event that the solar macroplant was built.Both for the Platform and for the municipalities involved and organizations that support them in their claims, the Ministry's decision has meant winning another battle against a multinational that only seeks economic benefit at the cost of damaging steppe habitats, wildlife and the quality of life of the inhabitants of the affected municipalities.The solar macroplant, which would occupy hundreds of hectares of surface of a territory of great landscape and fauna value, and would entail a high-voltage line of more than forty kilometers crossing the municipalities of Aledo, Totana and part of that of Lorca, would be a serious attack for the environment and would contribute to mortgage the tourist future of the upper districts of Lorca.The Platform of those affected and the entities that support it are in favor of clean energy, but a project that would destroy hundreds of hectares of areas of high ecological value and of high landscape quality cannot be considered beneficial for the environment.
Solar plants must be installed near the distribution and consumption areas to avoid negative impacts from their construction.Likewise, it was agreed to urge the Lorca City Council to reconsider its support for the solar macroplant and thus demonstrate its commitment to the conservation of the environment, with the sustainable development of the upper districts of Lorca and expressing solidarity with the affected inhabitants that their quality of life would be damaged and their future mortgaged.The General Directorate for Quality and Environmental Assessment of the Ministry resolved, in accordance with the factual background and alleged legal grounds and as a result of the environmental impact assessment carried out, that it is necessary to submit to the ordinary environmental assessment procedure of the «Modification of the project for the 287,616 MW Lorca Solar PV photovoltaic installation located in the terms of Lorca, Aledo and Totana (Murcia) », since significant adverse effects on the environment are expected. After said ministerial resolution, the BOE published a few weeks ago the environmental impact report of the modification of the Lorca Solar PV photovoltaic installation project.
