Advice from the GWO in the Serra do Cereixido: A Rúa and Quiroga town councils

• by OEGA
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This week, the GWO took part in two meetings with landowners and local groups in the municipalities of A Rúa (Ourense) and Quiroga (Lugo). Three wind farms are planned for these two municipalities along with the neighboring Vilamartín de Valdeorras and Ribas de Sil municipalities. These landowners and groups requested support from the Observatory to better understand the administrative procedure for wind-farm start-ups. They also asked for our point of view concerning the contacts made by the promoters and their proposed economic and legal conditions.

The advice given by the GWO is summarized in the following points, which are initially grounded on the participating groups’ acceptance of wind energy:
1. Wind farms, unlike reservoirs, are authorized, not “granted”. More importantly, wind farm authorization has no expiry date. A reservoir is “granted” for a limited period of time, but wind farms have come to stay in rural lands “for life”.
2. There are important asymmetries: promoters have vast experience and powerful teams; the owners have little information and limited outside help.
3. As a consequence: GWO recommends that ALL owners act together setting their own pace and time frames. They should not let themselves “get carried away” by the companies’ hastiness.
4. The proposal made by the companies (in this case, three recently created companies) has some weaknesses and biases as highlighted below:
a. The companies intend to remain in control of the entire territory, which comprises both the land inside the Wind Farm area as well as the surrounding land. This is unacceptable.
b. The companies do not want owners to gain any yield from the land within a 200-meter radius of the turbine and are unwilling to pay anything at all for this. This is unacceptable. This condition represents an area of 12.5 hectares per each wind turbine.
c. The companies intend to impose a suspensive 10-year period throughout which the land may not be subject to negotiation. However, the company is unwilling to pay for this. This condition is unacceptable.
d. The companies want the neighbors to undersign their approval of land occupation for wind farms and aerial evacuation lines. There is no project; the wind farm and evacuation line must be separated. This is unacceptable.
5. The annual sum offered by the companies ranges between 1,900 and 2,000€ per MW. This is 56% of the average in Galicia, which exceeds 3,300€ per MW. This is unacceptable
6. The companies offer 0.50€ per m2 for plots of land without wind turbines for right of way and 0.25 euros per m2 for flight easement in a lump-sum one-time payment. This is unacceptable.

For all the above reasons, the Galicia Wind Observatory recommends that owners consider the urgent need for common negotiation; that they seek alliances with municipal authorities and other professional groups that understand their demands in all fairness and support them in a clear and transparent way. In addition, the GWO offered to continue to collaborate free of charge.

Political representatives from the A Rúa and Quiroga Town Councils also participated in the meeting.