Green Peace publishes the report today Renewable with respect for people and biodiversity. Good and bad practices in the implementation of ground-based photovoltaic and wind energy projects.
Based on research by Renewable foundation25 specific projects are analyzed that demonstrate cases of bad and good practices in the autonomous communities of Andalusia, Aragon, Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Galicia, Navarra and the Basque Country.
In a context where both Spain and the European Union are still far from decarbonizing the economy by 2040, accelerating the implementation of renewable energy sources is crucial, along with reducing overconsumption, protecting biodiversity and combating growing inequality.
So, Green Peace claims that it is essential to seek harmony between the necessary expansion of renewable energy sources and the care of biodiversity, the territory and the people who live there, while promoting profound changes in the production and consumption model.
«The good news is that it is possible to do it well and it is being done in many places. The bad news is that none of the autonomous communities analyzed are free from bad practices on their territory.
There are companies that, blinded by money, try to repeat the same scheme of fossil fuels in the implementation of renewable energy sources, without taking into account the needs of the communities that host these energy sources and without considering environmental guarantees as obstacles or merely as procedures to be must be met. as quickly as possible.
Faced with the power of big companies, we must increase transparency and citizen participation in the democratization of the energy system,” said Sara Pizzinato, coordinator of the campaign. renewable energy by Green Peace.
Green Peace asks that what are merely good practices today should always be mandatory, and that bad practices should be banned and eradicated.
What is being done right and what is being done wrong when implementing renewable energy sources
Among the most common bad practices are project fragmentation, environmental impacts, cultural and archaeological impacts, lack of dialogue and participation of local communities, forced expropriation and non-payment of taxes.
Good points include early participation of local communities to influence the projects (location of the power plant, evacuation lines, environmental precautions…), sharing of the renewable plant’s land with other previous uses or with other energy sources, the promotion of local employment in the factories or in associated industrial facilities, the reduction of energy bills of local companies or vulnerable people, opening up to citizen participation in the investment of the factory, avoiding the implementation of the factory in protected areas or areas of high environmental sensitivity where not already prohibited, avoid the implementation of large installations in agricultural areas considered important and particularly relevant (with the exception of own consumption linked to local consumption) and avoid the use of forced expropriation of land.
The seven good practice cases examined indicate that the projects renewable They must build a good and sustainable relationship with the communities and biodiversity in which they reside.
It is interesting to note that some cases of good practice also involve the actions of local authorities. For example, sometimes they facilitate dialogue and consultation processes between initiators and the local population; Others benefit from the additional revenue from the tax burden on renewable energy sources to finance social policies, tackle inequalities and improve people’s lives at a local level.
Regulations that promote bad and good practices in the use of renewable energy sources
The report points out that some government regulations are alarming because they actually encourage bad practices. Including the “expressive environmental processing” (art. 22 of RDL 20/2022), which opens the door to certain projects to reduce environmental guarantees and public participation.
The study also found that both national and regional regulations differ greatly in the measures proposed for the deployment of the renewable.
There are still no clear processes to encourage early citizen participation and there are few open economic participations in projects for the public. renewable companies, with measures such as establishing a mandatory share/investment quota (such as in the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Navarre) or prioritizing projects that are open to participation over those that are not (proposal not yet approved in the C Valenciana).
Although these measures are positive, they still require improvements to effectively facilitate citizen participation.
Other interesting cases to promote good practices are the creation of exclusion zones for the implementation of the renewable energy (for example in Castile-La Mancha) or limit the expropriation capacity of the initiators in the case of a declaration of “public utility” (Balearic Islands). However, they are still very limited and specific experiences.
The report also contains examples of citizen participation regulations in Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, and concludes that it is perfectly possible to implement the renewable energy urgent, but at the same time with respect for people and biodiversity.
Greenpeace requirements regarding renewable energy
- Withdrawal of ‘explicit environmental processing’ in all areas except those with low environmental sensitivity, while reintroducing the process of public participation in this mechanism.
- Coordinate with the autonomous communities an environmental zoning for the deployment of renewable energy sources on land, excluding protected areas and promoting the development of renewable in areas with low environmental sensitivity (urban area, industrial estate, parking lots, infrastructure and degraded areas).
- Introduce mechanisms to prioritize the most participatory projects that most respect biodiversity.
- Publish mandatory guidelines to protect and, where necessary, improve local biodiversity when implementing projects renewable based upon.
- Ensure citizen participation from the earliest phases of renewable projects.
- Ban current bad business practices, such as the fragmentation of projects, development in protected and highly environmentally sensitive areas, reduction of public participation or unnecessary expropriations.
- Transparency: Publish on a map all current and ongoing projects, as well as information related to their dossier.
- Ensure access to the electricity grid and prioritize projects during auctions renewable citizens and with respect for people and biodiversity.
In the words of Sara Pizzinato: “We are not on a path to zero emissions by 2040, so it is crucial to reduce demand, implement renewable energy and giving up fossil fuels. However, it is unacceptable that this comes at the expense of environmental guarantees and citizen participation. “There are effective and feasible alternatives.”
Green Peace points out that there is still a long way to go in terms of increasing efficiency and adapting, as a society, consumption levels and energy needs, with criteria of fairness and social and environmental responsibility. It is crucial that measures are taken to achieve this.
At the same time, and given that it is essential to deploy the renewable energy, Green Peace calls on the new government to legislate so that no one puts their economic benefits above people and the planet, even in the urgent development of the renewable energy.