The platform 'Renewables Yes, but not like this!' denounces that the Government has approved as strategic projects two photovoltaic installations in sa Marina de Llucmajor, which will total more than 50,000 solar panels and occupy more than 20 hectares of protected land.
The Balearic Government has declared two new photovoltaic plants in sa Marina de Llucmajor as strategic industrial projects, a decision that has sparked outrage from the environmental platform 'Renewables Yes, but not like this!'. According to the entity's complaint, the installations will involve the placement of more than 50,000 solar panels over an area of more than 20 hectares of protected rustic land, in one of the areas of highest environmental and landscape value in Mallorca.
The approved projects: Son Canaves I and II and Na Forana
The declaration of the projects was published in the BOIB on July 4. This includes the photovoltaic grouping Son Canaves I and II and the Na Forana park. The latter would occupy nearly eight hectares and would include a booster substation and a 6.3-kilometre evacuation line to the private Isla substation, according to data provided by the platform.
The Son Canaves I and II grouping plans to install around 45,000 solar panels over an area that official documentation estimates at 100,000 square meters, although the entity raises the affected area to 174,000. The installation would also include a 6.5-kilometre evacuation line to the s’Arenal substation and would be located on land currently designated for the production of pastures and cereals for animals.
Sa Marina: a threatened ecosystem
The organization argues that sa Marina is one of the areas of highest environmental, agricultural, and landscape value in Mallorca and warns of the concentration of energy projects in this area. According to their calculations, there are currently seven photovoltaic plants operating in Llucmajor and another 29 are in processing, more than 25 of them in the vicinity of sa Marina. This accumulation, they warn, could turn the area into a "large industrial estate".
The platform also warns of the potential cumulative effects on wildlife, especially on the real milan, a species classified as endangered. Furthermore, they criticize that the installations are concentrated on rustic land while, in their view, building roofs, public infrastructures, parking lots, or industrial estates are not being sufficiently utilized.
The Llucmajor Town Hall issued unfavourable reports
'Renewables Yes, but not like this!' reminds that the Llucmajor Town Hall issued unfavourable reports on both projects and demands a joint environmental assessment of all the planned plants in Sa Marina. The entity calls for the halt of the new installations, the expansion of the ZEPA (Special Protection Area for Birds) Cap Enderrocat-Cap Blanc, and an energy and territorial planning that incorporates environmental criteria and the participation of the affected municipalities.
“The approval of these photovoltaic power plant projects shows the Government's contempt, and more specifically the Department of Business, Self-Employed and Energy, for municipal sovereignty when planning the territory,” this collective asserts. For the residents of Llucmajor, the decision represents a new front opened in the defence of their natural heritage, which is already under increasing urban and energy pressure.
For now, the platform is considering filing objections and appealing the declaration of strategic interest, while the Government defends that these installations are necessary for the energy transition. The conflict, which pits renewable development against environmental protection, promises to extend into the courts and the streets.
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