Between the Tagus River and the Jarama, one of the World Heritage enclaves is located in the municipality of Aranjuez. However, this complex could be threatened by the construction of four photovoltaic plants in the border area between this town and Colmenar de Oreja. “This puts the UNESCO title at risk. Losing it means losing a source of income, In addition to the impact on the neighbors who have them a few meters from the door of their homes,” they explain from the neighborhood platform Nos Movemos por Aranjuez. Together with this organization, the City Council also works to stop the works authorized by the Ministry of Transition Ecological and Circular Economy.
The tree-lined walks, the groves, the orchards, the Palace and the gardens, as well as the historic center of Aranjuez itself, make up this space that was declared a Cultural Landscape of Humanity in 2001 by UNESCO. This area acquires special protection to preserve it and, next to it, a buffer zone is established so that the nearby environment is not altered and the declared property is not damaged. It is precisely this land that is put in danger by the construction of solar plants. “In Liverpool the category of universal heritage was withdrawn for urbanizing in this area,” explain the neighbors. This, they indicate, “could cause a loss of income from tourism.”
To avoid this scenario, Nos Movemos por Aranjuez has submitted claims to the licenses that authorize this project, together with the 15 allegations registered by the City Council. “When we found out the plans had already been approved, we were all late,” laments Ana González, one of the members of the neighborhood platform. The first administrative authorization of the project was approved in March 2023, along with the environmental impact declaration by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Circular Economy. The second license, the one that authorizes private companies to build, was approved a few months ago. Specifically, the plants that will be built are called Envatios XXII phase II, Los Pradillos, Tagus I and Las Fresas.
The Ministry collects the information that is reflected in the provisions included in the prior administrative authorizations for the construction of the Las Fresas and Tagus 1 photovoltaic installations. In the case of Los Padrillos, the administrative authorization is still under public consultation and in Envatios XXII phase II there is no mention of Aranjuez. In the first case, Las Fresas, the document indicates that the promoter indicates that the plant will have a “minimal” impact. Furthermore, it points out that the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture is not opposed to the project, attaching two studies that reflect that “the plant object of this authorization does not generate visual impact and generates a low heritage impact, both in the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and in its attributes”.
On the other hand, regarding Tagus 1, the provision incorporates that the promoting company contacted the UNESCO Convention Area of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture, following opposition from the Aranjuez City Council. The company sent its Heritage Impact Assessment and the Visual Impact Study of the Plant to this body. According to the company, what emerges from these documents is that “the real impact of the photovoltaic plant on the area of reduced and relative incidence of the Aranjuez Cultural Landscape Management Plan is in any case minimal.”
Now, companies have a two-year window to begin building on the land. Prior to this, they must request the authorization of the strategic plan and urbanization from the Community of Madrid. As well as, the work and construction licenses of the Colmenar de Oreja City Council. “Aranjuez has held high-level meetings with the Community of Madrid and with the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Circular Economy and thinks continue to defend the interests of all the residents of Aranjuez and the protection of the Cultural Heritage that we have inherited and for which we are responsible for its conservation,” says the third deputy mayor and delegate of Urban Planning, Ignacio Díaz Toribio.
Impact on housing and felling of 14,000 olive trees
Apart from the impact of the construction of these photovoltaic plants on the heritage title, the Aranjuez City Council indicates that one of the plants, Envatios XXII phase II, “it intends to be implemented just 25 meters from the houses in the La Montaña neighborhood, as well as next to the Maestro Rodrigo school and the Victoria Khami daycare center, schools that have more than a thousand students.” Likewise, the proximity to these homes and the city center worries residents about the risk of fires related to these facilities: “There are statistics on the increased risk of fires in these infrastructures. If this happens, it would reach the center of Aranjuez,” the neighbors point out.
“The environmental impact report that was presented has deficiencies,” they point out from the neighborhood platform. These would be based on the lack of references to nearby homes, the exclusion of the buffer zone: “Despite having major errors and omissions, they were given a favorable report.” From the Nos Movemos por Aranjuez platform, they consider that the only way is for the City Council to take legal action and appear in the Contentious-Administrative Court to paralyze these projects.
The 600 hectares that these four solar plants will occupy will also imply that 14,000 olive trees will have to be cut down, among which is a centenary specimen, González details. “This supposes the equivalent of three months’ consumption of olive oil of the population of Aranjuez and it takes ten years to replant this volume of trees,” says the member of the neighborhood platform.
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