Sacyr parks its wind power plan in Navarre due to adverse environmental ruling

Madrid 24 JUN 2022 - 06:27CEST

One of the largest investment projects currently being handled by Sacyr in Spain, the development of 141 megawatts (MW) of wind power in the mountains of Navarre, has entered the dead end after an unfavorable environmental impact report by the Department of Rural Development and Environment of the Government of Navarre

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Sacyr Concesiones planned to allocate 132 million to three wind farms, gathered in the Vientos del Camino Haizebide development. The developer already had to correct in the summer of 2021 the preliminary drafts and environmental reports submitted a year earlier. The aim was to adapt them to the requirements of the Administration, so it included new studies of noise impact, habitats and landscape integration, and would seek a better use of rural roads. The 141 MW of installed power were to be deployed through 29 wind turbines.

The three installations were planned in Esteribar (Vientos del Camino / Haizebide 1); between Esteribar and Valle de Erro (Vientos del Camino / Haizebide 2), and between Esteribar, Anue and Olaibar (Vientos del Camino / Haizebide 3). The first two had ten wind turbines of 4.8 MW each and would have a joint evacuation power line. The third was designed with nine 4.7 MW turbines. The total generation potential was 450 GWh, equivalent to the annual consumption of 140,000 homes, and all of them were expandable.

The 2020 Energy Balance of Navarra, published last November, indicates that 53% of the electricity generated in its territory comes from renewable sources (47% in 2019), which have a weight of 24% in gross final consumption (the target was 28% for that year). Wind power is the main technology, with a generation capacity of 1,300 MW. And the coverage of electricity demand by wind power is 46%, being the sixth Autonomous Community in this ratio after Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja, Aragón and Galicia. Sacyr speaks, however, of a lost opportunity to advance in the ecological transition and drive a growth engine.

Sacyr, which has a Renewables area in Sacyr Concesiones, is putting its eggs in several baskets. In addition to green energy, its commitment to the ecological transition through the concession model is in the management of the water cycle and the promotion and operation of waste plants.

The group has already divested in 2019 of its cogeneration plants (125 MW), transferred to the SDCL fund, and is now growing with acquisitions in the aforementioned waste and water businesses.