Catalan Government prioritizes wind energy projects over forest protection

The Catalan Government, led by Salvador Illa, has decided to prioritize two wind energy projects in Tarragona, despite warnings from the administration's own forestry services. The agreements, published in the Official State Gazette, declare the Tivissa III and Tivissa IV wind farms as being of public utility, a status that will take precedence over the existing public utility status of several forests in the region.

Forestry technicians from the Terres de l'Ebre section issued a negative report regarding the Tivissa III project. They warned that the installation would cause structural occupation of forest land, territory fragmentation, and an “irreversible alteration of its protection values.” The report highlighted a “direct conflict” between the energy utility of the wind farms and the existing forest utility of the affected mountains, noting that the projects are incompatible with the maintenance of the protected values of the Comuns de la Vila and Maleses i Garrigues mountains.