"Wind power yes, but not like this." Director Rodrigo Sorogoyen said it when he collected the Goya for best film for As bestas, echoing a slogan that has been used by various platforms that protest against the implementation of large wind farms in different parts of Spain. This is the case of the Rede Galega Stop Eólicos (RGSE), the Fund for the Legal Defense of the Cantabrian Mountains, the organization Stop Parque Eólico Mar de Ágata and numerous local platforms that try to prevent the construction of new wind installations in their territory and that question the existing ones.
This is the case of the Terra Alta Viva association, which brings together various people, entities, associations and local companies that fight to avoid "massification of wind energy in a territory that hosts 25% of production in Catalonia. A figure that is increasing. , since the construction of three new parks is planned. These are the words of Núria Altés, from the family winery Herència Altés, who regrets that it is sometimes difficult to make the criticism of the current energy transition model understood. "We are not against renewables, it is clear that they are the future. We protest against a model that poses serious threats to agriculture and local ecosystems, that does not create jobs and that continues to concentrate power in the hands of large electricity companies. "explains Altés. The businesswoman emphasizes that "from the south of Catalonia we have been very supportive in energy matters, as has been demonstrated with nuclear power, but that a region with only 12,000 inhabitants produces a quarter of the territory's solar energy and has three new projects does not seem sustainable to us".
Thus, the diversification of wind farms is one of the main demands of the different platforms and associations that protest against the impact of renewables. It is explained by biologist Begoña Izquierdo, member of Hacendera, an association whose objective is to take care of the natural and cultural heritage and the health of people in the province of Soria: "The advantage of renewable energies is that they can be modular, that is, that do not need to be concentrated. This means that they can be installed in different territories and, most importantly, that they can be placed in areas that are already degraded, not in places with high landscape and ecological value, as is being done until now."
In this sense, Terra Alta Viva advocates "using spaces such as the margins of roads or polygons and, if this is not enough, establishing a territorial map and trying to ensure that the presence of wind power plants is equitable," explains Altés. For his part, Jaume Morron, who was general director of the Wind Association of Catalonia (EolicCat) from 2006 until his retirement in May 2023, remembers that "to install a wind farm it is essential that there be wind and that it be a good wind, which is which does not occur in all territories. To give an example, in the case of Catalonia, the north has powerful winds with large gusts that require special machines, such as the Alt Empordà Tramuntana, while in the Terras de l'Ebre the wind is constant and without gusts, therefore, very suitable."
For Izquierdo, the path to a fair energy transition involves "promoting self-consumption and cooperatives: small communities that ensure energy sovereignty" and the fact that management is in the hands of large corporations makes this process difficult. According to data from the Wind Business Association (AEE), Iberdrola, Acciona Energía, Enel Green Power (Endesa), EDPR and Naturgy are the companies that have the most wind power installed in Spain. All of them add up to a total of 17,000 megawatts (MW) of accumulated power at the end of 2022, of the almost 30,000 MW that are operational nationwide.
"It is a mistake to leave the transition in the hands of energy companies that have already contaminated everything they wanted because they have used fossil fuels, and that are now taking a cut of the money from European funds for this transition to renewables. Only they are interested the concentration and use of farmland for the creation of macro wind installations," explains the Hacendera spokesperson. According to Izquierdo, "it is not surprising that many politicians end up on the boards of directors of electricity companies when they end their public life."
For his part, Morron questions this statement and points out that "anyone can set up a wind farm." The expert recalls that "as of Decree Law 24/2021, in Catalonia it is mandatory that at least 20% of the capital be offered to local investors so that the project can be publicly disclosed. If not, it is not even processed." Thus, "if local investors are not involved it is because there is not enough money or entrepreneurship to invest in this type of initiatives."
This gives rise to situations such as the one taking place in Tarragona, where Naturgy currently operates four wind farms: Trucafort, in Priorat; Les Forques, in Conca de Barberà; and Los Barrancs and Punta Redona, both in Terra Alta. The development of the three new parks planned in this region is also in the hands of the company. Morron explains: "Currently there is a total of 1,300 MW of power in Terra Alta and the intention is to reach 4,000 MW in 2030. It is imminent to replace dirty electricity with sustainable options such as wind power, which is indigenous, renewable, It does not pollute, it creates jobs and, contrary to what its detractors say, it takes up very little space, unlike photovoltaics," he explains.
Morron invites all those who oppose the implementation of wind farms to "stop for a moment to look at how fossil fuels have traditionally been produced." The expert assures that “you only need to take a look at the uranium mines in Namibia that feed the Vandellós power plant or the coal mines in Colombia, to give just two examples, to see that the transition towards renewables is urgent. Since we don't see them, since the uranium or coal mines are not in our house, it is easy to believe that they do not exist."
The expert speaks, in short, of "a minority that makes a lot of noise as opposed to the silent majority that is in favor of renewables." The classic NIMBY effect (Not In My Back Yard), a term that was born in the United States in the 80s to refer to the opposition of certain communities to the negative effects of the construction of a new project in their environment and that has gone away giving repeatedly throughout history. A reaction that, for a large part of the renewable energy sector, is putting a damper on the development and expansion of clean energies that can stop the environmental crisis.
For the former director of EolicCat, the increase in tourism and business volume in places like Terra Alta and other similar places contradicts the complaints. A good example of this is that "in 2008 there were just over twenty wineries in this region, now there are 66. All of this has happened after the installation of the parks. It's all said," says Morron, who highlights the large influx of the interpretation centers of the Battle of the Ebro and rural tourism, both in this and other territories that host wind farms.
Altés, for his part, argues that the implementation of wind energy "is killing the territory from an agricultural point of view, and if agriculture dies, we will have to end up importing food, in addition to the fact that crops act as a barrier against climate change." ". Morrón, for his part, considers that "the argument that it is wind energy that kills agriculture is difficult to sustain, since agriculture began to die much earlier due to other factors. If there is no generational change, it is not because they have arrived wind power, but because rural workers have been looking for ways to live better and have been moving to cities and large towns.
Izquierdo also highlights the enormous environmental impact of the concentration of wind farms. "When fertile agricultural land is no longer used to produce food, it does enormous damage to biodiversity, since it has been proven that it influences the mortality of a good number of birds, bats and even insects." This is confirmed by a 2015 research review by scientists at the Berlin Institute of Technology, which noted that wind farms can have a negative impact on birds, including collisions, displacement, barrier effects, habitat change and loss.
Another research, this time published in Science of the Total Environment, indicates that the implementation of renewable energies can also have an impact on human life and lifestyles in local communities. Izquierdo explains: "Large wind infrastructures in towns produce deafening noise, which gives rise to nervous problems, insomnia, headaches and stress among inhabitants." However, a recent study published by Flinders University in Australia indicates that windmill noise is no worse than traffic noise.
A former worker in the sector who wanted to remain anonymous warns, for his part, of the potential dangers to health of the infrasound produced by wind turbines, sounds that are not audible to the human ear, but that generate effects on the organism and can be measured with specific devices. "It is an aspect that is still little known, but disturbing, according to the evidence of the few scientific articles that exist. The threat to health from infrasound should be reason enough to apply the precautionary principle and build much smaller generators until there is no more evidence." In fact, organizations such as the German Association for the Protection of Sound of People and Animals have shown their opposition to the expansion of wind energy in this country, a leader in Europe in the matter, due to the increase in cases of illness due to exposure to infrasound. These cause symptoms such as persistent noises, pulsations, whistling or buzzing, as well as others such as arrhythmias, visual disturbances or pressure in the ears.
This former worker also denounces the chemical pollution involved in the construction of a wind farm. "Each wind turbine needs a huge contribution of synthetic oil and they all lose it. Some, by default, in large quantities. Furthermore, no matter how much the contracts stipulate it, the foundation that is laid is never raised, and massive clearing and excavations take place. to make access roads and bring the network in. We must not forget the magnetic, electrical and electromagnetic pollution and, ultimately, a terrible disruption in the functioning of the ecosystem, especially taking into account the sizes of the latest generation wind turbines and their "accused accumulation".
Last, but not least, is the social and neighborhood conflict that Sorogoyen focused on and that this former worker summarizes. "The intention to install a megapark tears and divides rural societies, destroying coexistence in many cases. The people who own the land rented to install the wind turbines receive amounts much higher than the yield per hectare, but they do so to the detriment of their neighbors. , which wind turbines suffer in the same or almost the same way, but they do not perceive anything". Morrón does not see it that way: "It is difficult to find a mayor who is not satisfied with the economic injection that the implementation of a wind farm represents, in addition to the fact that the land owners receive 3,000 euros for each MW," he points out.
As was the case with that neighbor from As Bestas who lived in the city, ran a dry cleaners and tried to convince newcomers to sell their land, "in most cases the people who own it don't even live in the town," he points out. the former worker. Altés points out, however, that from Terra Alta Viva "in no case do we intend to criminalize the small farmer who sells, but we do intend to criminalize the system that allows it."
