The Portuguese Platform for the Defence of the Tejo Internacional Natural Park (PDPNTI) will deliver a public petition to parliament against mega solar power plants planned for the Beira Baixa region on January 30, followed by a demonstration the next day.
In the petition “Save Beira Baixa – Stop the Mega Solar Power Plants”, which has already collected more than 18,000 signatures, signatories demand a halt to plans for massive photovoltaic power plants in natural areas with fragile ecosystems throughout the eastern region of central Portugal.
In addition, they want the Naturtejo Geopark and other areas recognised by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) to be protected, with sustainable alternatives be prioritised, such as the installation of solar panels on existing artificial surfaces, roofs, industrial areas – and the creation of energy communities.
The signatories also want residents to “have a say in the decisions that shape their future.
“Beira Baixa deserves a future where nature and people thrive together. We, residents and friends of Beira Baixa, write to express our deep concern about the possibility of installing several mega solar power plants in our beautiful region, especially in the districts of Fundão, Penamacor and Idanha (Castelo Branco region),” the document reads.
The PDPNTI platform, meantime, is promoting a national demonstration under the banner “The Interior is not for Sale” starting at 2pm at Santa Apolónia (in downtown Lisbon) on January 31.
The protest aims to raise awareness and show Lisbon (and its powermakers) that the Beira Baixa is much more than a threatened territory, it is a living space, “full of history, culture, traditions and memories that define us.”
“We show that what is at stake is not just a technical or energy issue, but the human, cultural and environmental values that make the interior a unique place worthy of preservation,” explains the platform.
Recently, the evaluation committee coordinated by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) rejected the Beira photovoltaic power plant project after identifying significant negative impacts on ecological systems and land use.
This project involved the installation of 425,600 photovoltaic modules, with a total power of 266 Megawatts (MW), in an area of 524.4 hectares in the district of Castelo Branco (Monforte da Beira, Malpica do Tejo, Benquerenças, União das Freguesias de Escalos de Baixo e Mata and Castelo Branco) and in Idanha-a-Nova (Ladoeiro and União das Freguesias de Idanha-a-Nova and Alcafozes).
The developer has already expressed interest in reviewing the project and the proposed mitigation measures, and now has six months (180 working days) to do so and introduce any changes it deems appropriate to minimise the identified negative impacts and bring the project into line with the values at stake.
After that, it must submit documents relating to this review to the Environment Agency, which will be subject to “a new period of public consultation and a new technical analysis” by the evaluation committee.
As for the Lightsource bp Sophia Photovoltaic Power Plant project, the respective environmental assessment is still ongoing.
The legal deadline for this environmental impact assessment procedure is on February 9.
The Sophia photovoltaic power plant covers the municipalities of Fundão, Idanha-a-Nova and Penamacor,and represents an investment of around €590 million, for an installed capacity of 867 MWp (megawatt peak).
The project covers an area of 390 hectares occupied by over a million photovoltaic ‘modules’, 435 hectares if one factors in infrastructure that also involves a battalion of very high-voltage power lines – and as environmentalists stress, something is wrong if ‘renewable energy’ can only go fowards with the destruction of the natural environment.
Source: LUSA
