Catalonia has missed the boat on renewable energies. It was the pioneer autonomous community in this segment – the first wind turbine in Spain was installed in 1984 in Baix Empordà – but a decade, at least, of inaction in this segment means that for the moment it has not moved beyond the rear, although the Government is make an effort to shift into another gear. This situation was the subject of debate this Tuesday in the Parliament where, once again, the importance of a government having stable parliamentary support was evident, especially when it governs alone.
The Executive of Pere Aragonès once again suffered the tumult of the opposition en bloc in the monographic debate on renewable energies promoted by PSC and Junts, which together with the rest of the groups in the Catalan Chamber once again reprimanded the ERC Government, this time for its “failure” in the implementation of clean energy in Catalonia.
Although not all of the responsibility for this mismanagement is attributable to the current Government, since the previous Department of Territory and Sustainability, during the governments of Quim Torra and Carles Puigdemont, was in the hands of JxCat, socialists and post-convergents put ERC in the target for their “disastrous” management since they assumed responsibility for the matter. Thus, they denounced that Catalonia “regresses” year after year in the production of renewable energies, as demonstrated by the fact that in 2022 the production of this energy was the lowest in thirteen years.
The data contrasts with those presented by the Government. Aragonès himself took the floor to highlight that Catalonia is the territory with the most self-consumption facilities in the State and that 1,600 MW of renewable energy have already been authorized in the community, half of the 3,000 MW that has been set to be reached at the end of the legislature. .
“Certainly, we have been late,” the president admitted, but “we are doing our homework and catching up.” “Inertia has been turned,” he said, to meet the goal of Catalonia generating 50% renewable energy by 2030 – currently it is around 15%. But Aragonès stressed that these objectives cannot be achieved in “any way”, but with “consensus” and taking into account factors such as the impact on the primary sector, on biodiversity; In short, in the territory.
The president opted for consensus and demanded “political honesty” from the opposition in the face of “the complexity” of the energy transition in Catalonia. He even centrifuged some responsibilities by remembering that the central government is the one who authorizes photovoltaic and wind farms of more than 50MW and who has authorized private high-voltage lines in Catalonia "that have a strong impact on the territory that makes many people suffer." The Minister of Climate Action, David Mascort, demanded “loyalty” from the Government and that it stop authorizing these lines that “step on the powers” of the Generalitat in matters of biodiversity.
The Government's arguments did not convince the rest of the parties, which demanded “a 180-degree turn or a change of pace” in the face of the “paralysis” of the Catalan Executive.
