Protests Against Wind Farm Projects in Güímar
Around 200 people gathered yesterday at the Güímar Town Hall to protest against the construction of the wind farms El Pilón I and El Pilón II in the Agache and Fasnia regions. The organising group, Plataforma Ecomarca, achieved one of its goals: a clear statement from the Mayor of the municipality, Carmen Luisa Castro, regarding these projects. The mayor expressed her opposition to the establishment of these green energy infrastructures and committed to meeting with the group next week, according to the spokesperson for the collective, Hiurma Rodríguez.
During the protest, participants learned that “the promoting company is already manoeuvring to begin the procedures for a new project, Pilón III, in the areas of La Medida and Pájara,” both localities situated in the midlands of the Agache region. “We raise our voices in defence of what belongs to us: our land, our landscape, our health, and our future.”
They do not oppose clean energy but believe that these two wind farms do not meet the necessary requirements. “We want renewable energy, yes, but not in this way, not against the people, not by destroying what gives us life,” declared the manifesto read during the event. “We want planning that considers the public interest, not the interests of a company like DISA, which seeks to impose projects without listening to the citizens,” they emphasised.
DISA Energía Renovable, SLU is promoting the wind farms El Pilón I, with 15 megawatts and four wind turbines, and El Pilón II, with 8.5 and two wind turbines, affecting 181 plots located in Fasnia and Güímar. To evacuate the energy produced by both farms, 24 towers are planned to reach the slopes of Güímar, where the line will be buried until it connects with the substation located in the Valle de Güímar Industrial Estate. The investment is estimated at 22.3 million euros (14.3 million for El Pilón I and 8 million for El Pilón II).
The Plataforma Ecomarca for the Defence and Protection of Southeast Tenerife argues that the proposed location of the wind turbines, less than a kilometre from residential areas, “poses a direct threat to the quality of life, the natural environment, and the identity of our communities.”
In their submissions presented during the public consultation for the projects, they highlight that the wind farms El Pilón I and El Pilón II result in “severe environmental impact”, require land movement exceeding 240,000 cubic metres, and affect native vegetation, altering the natural landscape. Furthermore, they assert that more than 35 ravines and watercourses will be intercepted by the park’s infrastructures, jeopardising vital water ecosystems. The proposed locations are deemed “inadequately close” to homes, which typically generates risks from noise, vibrations, and environmental disruption. They also believe there is a “lack of genuine public justification”.
El Pilón I and El Pilón II “meet all the legal and environmental requirements, both in terms of distances and impacts,” as defended by the promoting company, DISA Energía Renovable, SLU. They remind that the Canary Islands Government “has defined areas for accelerating renewable energy, and this is one of them, which is why we have been respectful of the renewable implantation planning.”
