DISA defends the feasibility of the wind farm projects it promotes in Fasnia and Güímar and assures that they comply with the regulations for proper execution. At the same time, it expresses its willingness to make the necessary modifications to adapt them to the preferences expressed by the Government of the Cabildo of Tenerife, whose president, Rosa Dávila, publicly rejected the construction of both.
The company, which reiterates its commitment to the development of renewable energies in the Canary Islands, assures that the sites of both wind farms “comply with the planning” currently in force in the affected municipalities. In the case of El Pilón I, it is located on rustic land designated for energy infrastructure cataloged in Fasnia, while El Pilón II is planned on rustic agricultural land in Güímar.
Rejection of the Cabildo
The Insular Directorate of Territorial Planning, Historical Heritage, and Landscape issued an unfavorable report on the development of the project due to the planned location of the wind turbines and the route of the evacuation power lines. All of this affects the environmental, landscape, and wildlife values as well as puts protected species at risk, alters the natural habitat, and causes landscape impact.
In line with the allegations presented by the municipalities and the Plataforma Ecomarca Sureste, the Cabildo maintains that the development of these wind farms directly affects the Herques ravine, included in the Canary Network of Protected Natural Spaces with the category of Natural Monument, which separates Güímar and Fasnia, and the Special Nature Reserve of the Malpaís de Güímar.
The Company’s Arguments
The DISA Group argues that in the case of the Herques ravine, “the supports for the overhead line [which will serve to transport the energy generated by the wind farms to the Valle de Güímar Industrial Estate] will be placed outside the protected area“. Regarding the Malpaís, “the line will be buried in the outer road that delimits the Malpaís de Güímar, an existing path used by vehicles, so it does not affect its area at all”.
What the Cabildo Wants
The General Directorate of Energy of the Government of the Canary Islands maintained, until the past 5th, the public exhibition of these industrial complexes for their “administrative authorization, environmental impact assessment, and declaration of public utility for both projects”. The company points out that the projects are still in the processing phase, “in which it is possible to introduce as many modifications as the Cabildo wishes to adapt to their preferences, despite complying with environmental regulations”. According to DISA, “these adjustments would include both the relocation of wind turbines and the routes of the supports and the evacuation power line”.
The promoter company states that they have been designed with a logic of minimal environmental and territorial impact and adapted to the existing network of roads and highways
DISA, which has 120 MW of renewable power installed in the Archipelago, emphasizes that all its infrastructures “have been developed in compliance with current regulations and making the necessary adaptations not to affect the territory, the environment, and the natural heritage”. Additionally, it highlights that the projects “have been designed with a logic of minimal environmental and territorial impact,” and that the route of the evacuation power line included in the projects, which combines aerial and underground sections, “has been planned to adapt to existing roads, tracks, and highways”.
The company reaffirms its willingness to collaborate with the administrations and neighbors and its commitment to a sustainable and respectful energy transition with the environment. However, the spokesperson for the Ecomarca Movement for the Defense and Protection of the Southeast of the island of Tenerife, Hiurma Rodríguez Chico, made it clear that this neighborhood and social movement rejects any attempt to build wind farms in the Agache area, whether or not they affect protected spaces.
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