The Ministry for the Ecological Transition has approved the previous administrative authorization for the construction of the high voltage line (400 kV) from Valmuel (Terulos) to Begues (Baix Llobregat), and which includes 12 wind farms and a photovoltaic in Teruel. This is the large electricity evacuation line that will bring renewable energy from the large green battery in Aragon to the Barcelona region. The prior authorization is another milestone in this administrative file, but it has a significant value, because it shows that the project continues to avoid obstacles, despite the uncertainties that surround it.
However, the final construction authorization is conditioned on the "conformity" of the Generalitat, which must issue a report on biodiversity and adopt an agreement that will be decisive for obtaining the final authorization.
Coinciding with this provisional authorization - published in the BOE -, the Climate Action Councilor, David Mascort, recalled that this is "a competence of the State". And he also accused the central administration of "acting in a very disloyal way towards the Generalitat", of wanting to "transfer responsibility" to the Catalan administration and of putting it under "pressure" to give the green light and support in the construction
The prior authorization obtained by the promoter company is very routine, since this step is defined by the established legal procedure, which sets mandatory administrative milestones for processing. What is really relevant for the future of the MAT will be knowing whether it will obtain the final construction authorization, a fact that the central government should agree to before January 14, 2024, according to the legal deadlines.
But all this depends on a report on biodiversity that the Government must draw up to assess the impacts of this line. It should be borne in mind that the Valmuel-Begues line obtained a positive environmental impact statement from the ministry in April, but it is conditional on the report of wildlife and natural areas technicians.
The Councilor for Climate Action, David Mascort, referred to the atypical situation that is occurring, since it is an environmental authorization under the jurisdiction of the State that is conditional on a biodiversity report from the Generalitat. This is "wanting to transfer responsibility, when the competence and responsibility is theirs (of the State)", he declared. That's why he questioned the procedure. "Things must be done the other way around; first the reports are made and then (the projects) are authorized or not authorized", he added. He said the decision is up to the technicians.
According to various sources, in this case the central administration and the Generalitat are "throwing balls at the roof" at each other in the face of a very complex project that has achieved strong opposition in the municipalities through which it would pass.
Sources close to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition express the discomfort caused by this impasse and criticize the tactics of the Generalitat pointing out that "it is very comfortable to say that the fault (of the decision) was ours for saying yes, or that it was ours for say no".
In any case, the Generalitat's pronouncement on the line is at the same time conditioned by the fact that the promoting company (Forestalia) presents a proposal "that demonstrates that it takes into account the full environmental integrity of the territory and that it will adopt all corrective and compensatory measures adequate so that the environmental impact is nil or as minimal as possible", declared Marc Vilahur, general director of Medi Natural, to this newspaper.
The CEO says that the reports that the company has submitted so far provide insufficient information (on impacts and necessary environmental remedial measures). "With insufficient information, a project cannot have a favorable environmental assessment", says Vilahur, who expects the company to provide more detailed information on the corrective and compensatory measures it proposes to take to minimize the damage. These measures should in any case be aimed at protecting the populations of the bald eagle and the golden eagle, among other protected species, and at avoiding natural enclaves, which can lead to changes in the route.
