Moeche, a small rural municipality seeking local prominence in energy transition

• by OEGA
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Moeche is a rural municipality in the region of Ferrol in the northern part of the province of A Coruña with a population of 1,200 inhabitants. However, like many other small villages in rural Galicia, it has faced economic decline and a shrinking population. Long gone are the days of copper mines, lime production, and thriving livestock farms.

As of 2020, several energy companies have proposed establishing wind farms in Moeche. Among these proposals, Enel Green Power España, SL, a subsidiary of ENDESA, made significant progress in navigating the administrative procedures. Their initiative involves seeking authorization for five wind farms located in the northern part of the province of A Coruña, with the goal of connecting them to the electrical grid formerly managed by Endesa at the now-closed As Pontes Thermal Power Plant. The Moeche wind farm is part of this larger project, divided into five separate administrative procedures.

In 2021, the Galician Wind Observatory (GWO) visited Moeche to offer guidance to the local community. They returned for the same purpose in late September of this year, with the event organized by the association TEXMOECHE held at the Francisco Piñeiro Cultural Center. The primary topic of discussion was the status of the wind farm project. Initially approved, the project came with specific conditions that prompted the company to request a modification of the granted authorization. These changes included reducing the number of wind turbines from 12 to 5 while maintaining the total capacity and increasing the individual turbine capacity from 4.5 to 7.2 MW.

During the two-hour dialogue between the GWO representative and the attending local residents, several key points regarding wind farm development were clarified:

• The company is withholding information: it has not provided contract models, and its intermediary in Moeche claims that residents might face expropriation if they do not accept their conditions. However, this is untrue as the company has not requested a declaration of public utility.
• The conditions offered by the company are among the lowest currently available in Galicia. The company could potentially offer higher compensation or even a share of the revenue without jeopardizing its investment.
• The company stands to make a very lucrative profit, potentially recouping their investment in less than three years if electricity prices remain as they were in 2022, or just over five years if prices increase to those of September 2023.
• The company has no intention of paying for the land that would change its urban planning designation (over 90 hectares), even though property values would decrease, which is deemed unfair.
• Landowners within competitor exclusion zones (almost 4,600 hectares) would receive no compensation. This means hundreds of property owners will lose their rights to future developments without receiving any compensation.
• From 2021 to 2023, social mobilization efforts, including nearly 900 objections, have prompted the company to reduce the number of wind turbines to minimize the visual, noise, and occupancy impacts.
• During the debate, concerns were raised about environmental issues, including water quality, access, and the distances between inhabited areas and the wind turbines.

GWO’s main recommendation to the residents of Moeche gathered at the Cultural Center was to remain united, continue collectively defending their interests, negotiate collectively with the company, and leverage the municipality’s support for the technical and legal costs of their stance.
The Mayor of Moeche, present among the audience, mentioned that the municipality had appealed against the preliminary authorization of the wind farm and did not rule out the possibility of filing an administrative legal challenge if it served the general interests of all Moeche residents. Additionally, the Mayor encouraged attendees to join the municipality’s developing energy community.