The windmills from the film As Bestas and the solar panels from the film Alcarràs have brought the debate on the fit between agriculture and renewable energy to the big screen. That is, between food production and electricity generation. Both activities compete for the use of land, especially solar panels, which require large areas of flat land with little unevenness, just like crops.
In a context of bad harvests due to the climate crisis and low agricultural prices, the high prices paid by promoters of renewable projects are a great temptation. Especially for those landowners who do not live by working in the fields. For one hectare of dryland cereal cultivation, an owner who has his land rented to a farmer receives annual earnings of about 300 euros, according to sources in the primary sector. On the other hand, for a 30-year rental contract, the promoters of renewable projects pay about 1,800 euros per year per hectare and if the land is of special interest, the figure can skyrocket to more than 2,000 euros.
The first affected by the loss of cultivated hectares for the installation of renewables is the farmer who previously worked those lands. However, a few months ago, various entities warned that the loss of agricultural land is not only a problem for farmers, but a "strategic issue for the country, for critical food supply in a country with low food self-sufficiency." Among the signatories of the manifesto are organizations linked to the agrarian world, but also the Col legi d'Economistes or the environmental organization Ipcena-EdC.
“We have had five food crises since 2007, when we had not had any for 50 years. The last one was the war in Ukraine”, warns Francesc Reguant, president of the Agri-Food Economics Commission of the Col legi d'Economistes de Catalunya. Faced with this scenario, "states around the world are taking measures to increase their productive potential, while investment funds are investing in the purchase of arable land, which is rising in price," adds the expert, who indicates that he is doing these personal statements.
It is estimated that Catalonia does not produce even half of the food it consumes, making it highly dependent from a food point of view. However, it is also highly dependent on the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources, which in 2022 accounted for 14.4% of the total electricity consumed (in Spain as a whole, this same figure rose to 42.2% ). In this sense, Catalonia is one of the regions furthest behind in the implementation of large renewable energy projects due to government management.
"We, from Afrucat (the Business Association of Fruit of Catalonia), are committed to investing in renewable energy and also to food production. We have to agree and abide by clear rules. This can't be a save yourself who can. It cannot be that trees are uprooted to put in renewable energy and then we lack food and have to import it. For a country, food is just as strategic as water or energy”, says Manel Simón, general director of Afrucat.
In the opinion of Francesc Reguant, the occupation of agricultural land by renewable energy projects is "outrageous" when it comes to irrigated land. "Bringing water to these farms has meant a great economic investment, without forgetting that they are much more productive than dry farms," recalls the expert. In Catalonia, it is estimated that 30% of irrigated land contributes 70% of agricultural production.
Manel Romero, co-delegate in Catalonia of the employers' Unión Española Fotovoltaica (Unef) and co-owner of the installation company Sud Renovables, laments that "the debate is focusing on the dichotomy between renewables and agriculture". “We must not choose between one thing and the other. Making the energy transition on the ground does not mean stopping farming. It is evident that other lands must be prioritized”, affirms Romero. José Enrique Vázquez, president of the Group of Energy Managers of Catalonia, is clear: "Energy and agricultural production can and must go hand in hand."
Romero puts the following information on the table: "It is estimated that to make the transition to a 100% renewable electricity system, 80,000 hectares are needed, 2.5% of the surface of Catalonia, when in the last 20 years the Catalan agricultural surface it has been reduced by 10% as 98,000 hectares have been abandoned”. It is, mainly, unproductive land or located in remote areas, which neither farmers nor promoters of renewables have –for the moment– interest in recovering.
A recent study by the Sustainability Observatory estimates that Catalonia has 33,861 hectares of land with no ecological value and which, if used for the installation of photovoltaic solar panels, could produce enough electricity to supply electricity to the entire Catalan territory. . These are surfaces such as roofs, landfills or road shoulders.
“We have enough spaces to locate solar panels without harming the productive capacity of food, but it is a question of costs. Developers prefer agricultural land due to its ideal characteristics for the implementation of renewables and the lower prices”, says Francesc Reguant. There is another key factor when choosing a location for solar and wind farms: proximity to a connection point to the electricity grid. This condition is to blame for the fact that renewable energy projects are concentrated in certain parts of the territory and that not all locations are viable.
Beyond the clash between agriculture and renewables, Juan Fernando Martín Romacho, head of Climate Change at Fundación Renovables, stresses that "the main reason for rejecting renewable projects is a mere visual, landscape issue." The spokesman for this entity created to raise awareness in society about the need to decarbonise the energy system urges the "rapid deployment of renewables, essential to make the energy transition happen now and thus mitigate the effects of the current climate crisis".
