New Renewable projects will be fast tracked

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Noticias:

New renewables projects will now go on the fast track in unprotected areas.

The EU finalizes two laws to reduce controls and environmental studies to authorize wind and photovoltaic farms.

The speed at which the climate is changing on earth and under the considerations of successive climatological summits, Europe and the Spanish state try to step on the accelerator in relation to the implementation of energy production centers that do not pollute the planet's atmosphere with CO2, that is, try to minimize the combustion of fossil fuels.

 

In this sense, the State Government has lifted the obligation to prepare an environmental impact assessment for all wind and photovoltaic energy projects that are not going to be implemented in the sea, within the Natura Network or areas considered National Heritage and Biodiversity.

 

This express procedure already existed since March, but only for smaller installations, with up to 75 MW of installed wind power and 150 photovoltaic power, in order to accelerate the permits to implement renewable energies. The difference now is that the size of the facilities outside the protected areas that may benefit from an accelerated authorization process, with administrative silence and that cuts in half the process of information to the corresponding Administration and public information is no longer specified.

 

The modification is reflected in the decree-law with the extensions and new measures to alleviate the effects of the economic crisis due to the war in Ukraine that the Government approved at the end of December. Among many other measures, the EU regulation approved by European Energy Ministers on December 19 is introduced into Spanish law, to accelerate the deployment of renewables in areas with lower environmental risk, through "simpler and shorter authorization granting processes".

 

The promoter's report is sufficient

 

The provisions of the decree-law that came into force on December 28 is very similar to the express procedure to authorize wind and photovoltaic projects for smaller parks that has been in force in Spain since March, because it already appeared in the first decree with economic measures for the war in Ukraine.

 

Broadly speaking, it means exempting from carrying out an environmental impact assessment by the Administration – which can take more than a year – projects that are not going to be in protected areas or at sea. Instead, the promoter must submit documentation stating that the project has no environmental impact in terms of discharges, generation of waste or natural resources and cultural heritage, socio-economic impact on the territory or effects on nearby facilities.

 

If within a period of 10 days the Administration and its technicians do not consider that there are perverse effects, it will give the go-ahead, which will also be if the administration does not pronounce itself, with administrative silence. This does not prevent environmental technicians from making a report on environmental impact within two months, but until then the developer can start starting the project.

 

The majorera situation

 
In Fuerteventura the government of CC-PP and Sergio Lloret had proposed a document that has slowed down the implementation of renewable energies in recent times. The document could be on deaf ears in relation to the latest news coming from Europe and the Spanish State.

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link to an old article that I think the first link refers to

Tamara: Parque Huriamen is roughly situated between La Capellania (Tamaragua) and The Dunes. I presume that this project will be back on the cards. It won't be that far from the proposed Dreamland!

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Noticias:

The environmental report is no longer needed for wind and photovoltaic farms.

The climate emergency forces measures "to try to make up for the time lost in these four years in the penetration of alternative energies".
Companies interested in placing wind or photovoltaic farms in the Canary Islands have welcomed the entry into force these days of the decree of the Government of Spain by which the complicated and tortuous environmental impact report, which took between one and two years to grant the autonomous governments, will not be required.

 
The Government of Sánchez had received a small tug of ears, like other executives of the Union, by the European Community for the delay in the objectives of the penetration of wind and photovoltaic energies in Spain, something that can cause hundreds of millions of euros of European aid to be lost.
The Ministry of Ecological Transition has put the batteries and the Government of Spain has approved a decree that will facilitate the installation of wind and photovoltaic farms throughout the State and, of course, also in the Canary Islands, given the inefficient performance of the regional governments in this field. Now the obstacles will be less, but it is clarified that they will not be able to be installed in protected areas.

 

The case of Fuerteventura is an example of how poorly the penetration of alternative energies on the island has been managed. Not only the Cabildo has rejected or put obstacles to any attempt to install these photovoltaic or wind farms by the private initiative.

 

The Cabildo of Fuerteventura also proposed a moratorium on private initiative in renewables because it is not in favor of consuming territory for photovoltaic parks and consider that it is better to install it on the roofs or define an island plan to assess what type of soil is suitable. According to private developers, it may not only be illegal not to allow suitable land (rustic without any protection) but a delay in the penetration of alternative energies.




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