Various social and political organizations have called on the Catalan Government to expedite solutions to provide the future Tordera II desalination station in Blanes with the electrical supply power necessary for this facility to function. This desalination plant, which has suffered various delays, requires a power of 60 MW and electrical infrastructure that currently does not exist for its operation.
This lack of energy support has been evidenced by the fact that the Santa Coloma de Farners-Riudarenes branch project of Red Eléctrica's Vic-Bescanó high-tension line has run aground without there being a known alternative solution. The project has been stranded after protests in the territory, which were supported by the last governments of the Generalitat and most Catalan parties, including the PSC. The Government promised an alternative route that has not yet been finalized. And yesterday, again, he promised that the electrical power supply will be defined when the construction project goes out to tender this year.
Silvia Paneque, PSC deputy, criticized the delays in water and energy infrastructure and pointed out that “the Government should have already specified an alternative solution that would ensure the same electrical capacity offered by the Riudarenes MAT branch.” “They haven't done it yet, but I hope they do it soon and that this doesn't delay the opening of the new desalination plant.”
Salvador Vergès, Junts deputy, maintains that “this is an example of the damage that the delay that Catalonia accumulates in terms of renewable energy can cause.” Vergés indicates that various studies have supported the idea that more electricity supply through this new high voltage line was not strictly necessary and that it was possible to do so with smaller lines that were less harmful to the territory, the landscape and the environment. “Councilor Teresa Jordà promised that these less harmful alternatives would be studied. She should have moved them to Madrid, but she must have poorly managed or defended it when we need a desalination plant as a priority in which the electricity source is still pending,” she says.
“In the last 10 years, with the ERC and Junts governments we have had no planning, neither water nor energy. It was a disaster foretold. Many words and communication about the climate emergency and few actions. Girona is an energy island with almost zero renewables. If we didn't want high voltage lines, we needed renewables. Neither one thing nor the other has been done,” says David Cid, spokesman for the commons.
“We need urgent solutions, because for years in Catalonia there has been no global and systemic vision of infrastructure needs,” says Carles Conill, president of the Environment Commission of the Col·legi d’Enginyers de Camins. “You cannot think of any water infrastructure without taking into account its energy needs,” he emphasizes. Salvador Sedó (Foment del Treball) judged that “if they put their efforts, it is still possible to arrive in time” to provide a solution, since the supposed start date is 2028.
Joan Canal, a member of the No to MAT Selva Platform, who once led the mobilizations against the Riudarenes branch, highlights: “Opposing the high voltage line does not mean that we oppose the desalination plant. We are sensitive to the problem of drought. But we believe there are other solutions to feed the plant.”
The platform maintains that the future desalination plant does not depend on the Riudarenes branch being unblocked and trusts in the solutions provided by the Generalitat.
“The Catalan Administration is working to approve a proposal for a line with a different route that responds to the needs of the desalination plant, and taking into account the natural, human and economic environment of the area,” he points out.
The Platform No to the MAT Selva rejected the route of the 17-kilometer branch through Les Guilleries at the time, due to the strong environmental impact it caused. The protest received 6,125 allegations. “That layout is nonsense. But we have always made constructive proposals,” says Canal. “In recent years, alternatives for action have been presented that, for various reasons, have not been sufficiently addressed,” the platform says.
