The Catalina project that CIP promotes in the province of Teruel includes 7 wind farms, 6 photovoltaic parks, their evacuation infrastructure to the green hydrogen production plant, and the 400 kV connection line.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), the Danish fund that will build the Maestrazgo Cluster, has estimated the number of trees that will be felled for the wind power macroproject at around 98,000, compared to the two million reported by the Teruel Existence citizen movement.
The Official State Gazette (BOE) submits to public information the announcement of the Department of the Industry and Energy Area of ??the Government Subdelegation in Teruel by which the request for Environmental Impact Declaration and Prior Administrative Authorization of the Catalina project. This is a project to generate electrical energy for self-consumption without surpluses, which includes 7 wind farms of 897.60 MW of installed power, 6 photovoltaic solar parks of 729.56 MW of installed power, its evacuation infrastructure to the green hydrogen production of 500 MW of power, and the 400kV connection line for demand in the Mudéjar 400 kV SET, in the province of Teruel.
Wind facilities (Catalina I, II, IV, V, VII, VIII and IX Wind Farm) as well as photovoltaic facilities (Catalina III, VI, X, XI, XII and XIV Photovoltaic Park) are exempt from obtaining access and connection permits. to the network, as it is a self-consumption regime without surpluses.
In a press release, the CIP has come forward with some information released that, it states, contains “inaccuracies or does not correspond to the reality of the project” included in both the environmental impact assessment file and the Environmental Impact Declaration ( DIA) favorable issued by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. In fact, they insist that the project “has been designed in accordance with the most demanding environmental, social and technical standards” and that “environmental prevention is at the heart of the design, construction and operation of the project”, in which they have participated more than 50 engineers and graduates specializing in different environmental disciplines.
Regarding the occupied surface and impact on forest masses, CPI details that the Environmental Impact Declaration of the project indicates the surface of occupation of this on the different typologies of vegetation which, in the case of coniferous forests and deciduous forests, will be around of 140 hectares, much lower than the published figures. «Taking into account the densities of the Maestrazgo forests, which, according to scientific studies, are on average between 500 and 700 feet per hectare in the most mature areas, the total number of trees that will be affected by the construction of the project is around 98,000, a “This figure is very different from the 2,000,000 trees reported by third parties,” the statement said. Furthermore, it emphasizes that the compensation plan for the reforestation of occupied areas will require the planting of at least the same number of removed trees and of the same species.
Regarding the impact of the Natura 2000 Network in Special Protection Areas for Birdlife (SPA), they assure that “none of the project’s wind turbines” is located in SPAs, “nor are its platforms and internal lines.”
The only section of the evacuation line through which the energy generated that will affect a SPA area of ??the Natura 2000 Network will be transported will replace the existing transmission line owned by another company, which evacuates the energy of several of its facilities through that line. wind farms at the Morella substation, says CPI. The new line will be 10 kilometers long and will run through the forest corridor of the existing one, which will be dismantled to avoid duplication.
CIP is the owner of one of the largest wind farms in operation in Spain, in Monegros (Aragón), with 487 MW.
Image: CIP
“The project therefore does not imply any increase in transmission lines in the SPA, but rather the replacement of an existing line with a new one that will have the most advanced protection measures for birdlife, which will reduce the risk of collision,” adds the press release, which adds that the new line will have additional capacity for the evacuation of energy from future projects, thus avoiding the construction of other pipelines in the future.
CPI adds that the protection of birdlife “has been a central piece in the development of the project” and that is why the wind turbines “incorporate the most modern bird detection systems based on 3D radar technologies, high-resolution artificial vision and Artificial Intelligence that will allow the wind turbines to stop in the event of a risk of collision.
Furthermore, in the first five years of exploitation, field work will be carried out annually to monitor and protect the fauna, which will continue throughout the useful life of the parks. “This will allow the monitoring and protection of the populations in the area, especially attention to the species included in the List of Wild Species under Special Protection Regime, the Spanish Catalog of Endangered Species and the Regional Catalog of Endangered Species,” they say from CPI.
Regarding the Special Conservation Areas (ZEC) of the Natura 2000 Network, the company points out that the environmental impact study has made a detailed analysis of the impact on these areas, so that “all the wind farms located in the same “They comply with the precept of the Habitats Directive of not putting at risk the global coherence of the Natura 2000 Network.”
The evaluation of the impact of the project on the geological values ??of the surroundings of the El Maestrazgo Geopark has focused on the Places of Geological Interest (LIG) and concludes that the final impact of the project on the geopark would represent only “0.19% of the total surface, so there will be no significant alteration of its integrity, nor its geomorphological components, relief, soil, vegetation and surface hydrology, and even less so once the restoration work to which the Project is obligated under the EIA.
From CPI they have highlighted the socioeconomic impact of the Maestrazgo Cluster, of 763MW, which will produce around 1,986 GWh of renewable electricity per year, which will supply energy consumption equivalent to 570,000 homes and will offset 320,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually, « thus contributing to the national objectives of renewable energy generation” to the “acceleration of the energy transition and the decarbonization of the national electrical system.”
They affirm that the Teruel Project is also “an important cornerstone of the Spanish wind industry”, since a large part of the components and services for the deployment of wind turbines will be supplied by suppliers with a strong local presence, “thus contributing to maintaining 3,547 direct and indirect jobs. In this regard, CPI will seek to “favor the diversity and integration of female employment and underrepresented groups in this sector, as well as the promotion of local employment and the hiring of local service companies,” adds the press release.
Likewise, it highlights that the project has the support of all the affected municipalities of the Maestrazgo in Teruel (Cañada de Benatanduz, Cantavieja, Fortanete, La Iglesuela del Cid, Mirambel, Mosqueruela, Puertomingalvo, Tronchón, Villarluengo, Valdelinares and Linares de Mora) and that It will boost “the economic growth of the region and the gradual population decline that it has been suffering.”
The wind cluster “will not only inject economic resources via taxes and municipal fees, estimated at around 400 million euros, but will also generate employment in the Maestrazgo and Gúdar-Javalambre regions, which will help establish and attract population,” concludes the press release.
