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ADVEReadNOWISEMENT
Environmental organisations and experts warn that the green label should not be synonymous with zero impact, and that it is essential to rethink the way in which its deployment is being carried out.
Despite their undeniable environmental benefits, renewable energies are not exempt from generating negative impacts on the environment.
Natalia Corbalán, spokesperson for the SOS Rural platform, states that “green means cultivating the land, caring for it, protecting the environment”, questioning the indiscriminate use of the term to describe these technologies.
The most paradigmatic case is in the Spanish province of Jaén, where four photovoltaic projects in the municipality of Lopera, along with another 20 planned in the region, threaten to eliminate more than 100,000 olive trees.
This situation has led organisations such as SOS Rural, the Asociación Ecología y Libertad, and the Campiña Norte platform to initiate a macro-court case to stop the installation of photovoltaic plants affecting farmland.
The problems are not limited to solar energy. Offshore wind presents its own environmental challenges, from the alteration of habitats during construction to the risk of collision of seabirds in migratory areas.
In addition, both PV and wind rely on materials extracted through mining processes which, paradoxically, can have significant environmental impacts.
This observation also applies to electric vehicles, as the extraction and processing of materials for their batteries raises questions about their true sustainability.
The need for an orderly transition
Experts agree that renewable energies are essential to combat climate change, but insist on the need for a more planned and responsible deployment.
Daniel Jato Espino, a researcher at the International University of Valencia, warns that “the lack of strategic planning can generate social rejection, loss of landscape values and conflicts with traditional activities such as agriculture or fishing”.
The key, according to specialists, lies in the appropriate selection of locations. Mar Asunción, from WWF, highlights that less than 2% of Spain’s territory would be sufficient to cover the country’s energy needs, which underlines the importance of choosing “areas with low environmental impact” for these facilities.
The energy transition must not become “a race to install megawatts at any price”, as Jato Espino warns. On the contrary, it must be “orderly, participatory and sensitive to the territory”, respecting local ecosystems and traditional economic activities that have proven their sustainability over time.
The debate on renewable energies highlights the complexity of the energy transition. While no one questions the need to move away from fossil fuels, the challenge is to strike a balance between climate urgency and the protection of the environment and rural communities. Only careful planning and a sound regulatory framework can ensure that green energy is truly sustainable.