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Spanish researchers warn of the impact of the 'boom' of renewables on birds and bats

2020-12-11T18:27:25.357Z


23 CSIC scientists warn in a letter in 'Science' of the loss of biodiversity associated with the construction of mega photovoltaic and wind farms


The race to reach 89 gigawatts of photovoltaic and wind energy - there are already 36 installed - that Spain needs to comply with the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) may cause irreversible damage to biodiversity, warn 23 scientists from the Higher Council of Scientific Research (CSIC) and several universities.

The authors of the paper, published in the journal

Science

They are in favor of that type of energy, but argue that the new projects will affect "hundreds of thousands of hectares and there is no way to compensate for the enormous amount of valuable habitats that could be lost."

To minimize the impact of the energy transition on threatened natural values, they consider that greater planning is necessary, as well as policies that are committed to efficiency, self-consumption and energy saving.

Among the adverse effects, scientists highlight photovoltaic projects that occupy flat areas and may compromise the viability of steppe bird populations, which are seriously threatened in Spain.

Species such as the little bustard, barnacles, the ricotta lark, the Montagu's harrier or the lesser kestrel have suffered a decline in the last 15 years of between 20% and 50%.

In addition, their populations are in areas not covered by the Natura 2000 Network, "so there are no legal tools to shield them from the advancement of macro-energy projects," they denounce.

As an example of the impact that some of these facilities already produce on biodiversity, the statement refers to the significant mortality of large birds, especially vultures, or bats when they collide with the 20,000 wind energy turbines in operation in Spain.

“At least” it is estimated that 200,000 bat specimens and around a thousand griffon vultures die from this cause each year.

These losses cause demographic consequences in some threatened populations, as occurs with Egyptian vultures that run into wind turbines in Andalusia, where the population is classified with the highest protection figure.

A situation to which is added that when critical points of affection to birds are detected "the turbines practically never stop to reduce deaths", explains to EL PAÍS David Serrano, scientist at the CSIC at the Doñana Biological Station and first author of the letter.

Companies opt for the “cheapest land” to build infrastructure, continues Serrano.

They opt for marginal lands, but of high ecological value such as cereal crops or mid-mountain areas, ecosystems where steppe and raptor birds live, "which have their largest European or even world populations in Spain."

"I would also choose the cheapest, because it is more profitable, but it is the Administration that must ensure that they are not installed in certain areas, and it does not always do so," he adds.

The researchers have no doubt that renewable energies are necessary, but also that their coexistence with biodiversity requires ambitious planning and good practices in environmental assessment processes.

Reason why Spain "should adopt a more cautious approach to prevent a scenario in which energy objectives are met at the expense of biodiversity."

They consider that the solution passes through the choice of suitable locations.

"The minimum number of plants possible should be built in the field and looking for land that does not have a high ecological value, in addition to betting on self-consumption by taking advantage of the roofs of the buildings of industrial estates, companies, neighborhoods ...", clarifies the scientist.

Another problem is due to the fact that on many occasions the field information is not updated or available, in such a way that “projects in areas with poorly protected species are authorized because the regional or state catalogs of fauna and flora are not up to date and they do not collect the real state of certain populations ”.

The specific letter also states that the environmental impact studies of these infrastructures are "financed by energy companies, often with little supervision by governments, which excludes independence."

Serrano considers that the central problem is the urgency that Spain has to meet the objectives, which has led to an accelerated and disorderly process that overwhelms technicians and the Administration, despite the Government's efforts to avoid a speculative bubble in the Secondary market.

At the moment, there are access permits to the electricity grid for projects that represent 121 gigawatts, which will be added to the 36 already installed, according to information from Red Eléctrica de España.

"This implies that the objectives of the draft PNIEC for 2021-2030 are almost doubled," says Serrano.

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2020-12-11

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