The citizen platform Are rural and the association ecology and freedom They have announced a national judicial macrocause to stop the installation of photovoltaic plants in fertile agricultural land.
The national spokeswoman for SOS Rural, Natalia Corbalán, and the president of the Association Ecology and Libertad, Margarita Fernández, just presented the legal strategy and a “historical alliance”, according to their promoters, which will mark “a turning point in the way of addressing the development of the agricultural, energetic and territorial sector. The initiative also has the back of the platform Northern countryside against solar megaplants“.
The objective of this joint action is to stop the disorderly deployment of photovoltaic facilities in Spain, say their promoters, say its promoters, “Under the pretext of the energy transition, they are causing the destruction of the field, the erosion of the landscape and the threat to food sovereignty, biodiversity and public health.”
In a first phase, SOS Rural and the Association Ecology and Freedom will act judicially against the four photovoltaic projects that affect the Jienense municipality of Lopera, which, together with the more than 20 planned in the province of Jaén, would imply the elimination of more than 100,000 olive trees, many of them centenary.
Binding zoning
In Andalusia, and following data from the promoters of the initiative, 69.6 % of photovoltaic plants and 90.9 % of thermosoles are installed on agricultural soils cataloged as S1 and S2, those with greater productive capacity. This situation, according to organizations, generates a loss of land that takes centuries to form and alter unique agrarian ecosystems. In his opinion, “the rise of solar energy in Spain can only be considered sustainable if it does not entail negative impacts on the territory, the landscape and the rural economy.”
Given this scenario, entities demand a law that regulates the use of agricultural land with sustainability criteria, following the example of countries such as Italy or France. They propose to prioritize the installation of solar plants in degraded soils and effectively protect those with high agricultural value.
In 2024, the photovoltaic parks already occupied more than 50,000 hectares of useful agricultural surface (SAU), according to the Official Report Extension of the photovoltaic parks in Spain 2024, published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Map)equivalent to more than 70,000 soccer fields. According to the map, the forecast indicates that, to 2030, the surface occupied by photovoltaic parks will reach 94,596 hectares, equivalent to more than 130,000 football fields, which represents an increase in the 166% since 2016.
The spokeswoman for Rural SOS, Natalia Corbalán, stressed that from the platform they do not oppose renewable energies, but to their “irresponsible” implementation in essential productive soils for the common future. Margarita Fernández, president of Ecology and Freedominsists on the need for adequate territorial planning that determines areas compatible with solar infrastructure, excluding protected areas. “The first judicial actions, based on the exhaustive study of photovoltaic projects that affect the municipality of Lopera, will allow us to curb the felling of centenary olive trees in that territory,” says Fernández.