The General Directorate of Quality and Environmental Assessment of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has issued a unfavorable environmental impact statement (EIS) for Corus wind farm, considering that the project could generate significant adverse effects on the natural and cultural environment in the Eastern Coastal Mountains of Cantabria.
The resolution, published through the Official State Gazette, cites significant risks to biodiversity, the Natura 2000 Network, the landscape and heritage, and warns of synergistic effects with other developments in the pipeline. The text specifies that the EIA "is not subject to appeal." without prejudice to any actions that may be taken against possible acts of administrative authorization.
What has Miteco decided and why?
The environmental body concludes that it cannot be ruled out that the initiative will cause Negative and significant impacts on wildlife (raptors, migratory birds and bats), vegetation, habitats of community interest, public utility forests, protected areas, landscape and cultural heritage.
Among the determining elements, Miteco focuses on the location of the project on the IBA 422 Eastern Coastal Mountain and on the proximity of the Santoña, Victoria and Joyel Marshes (ZEC, SPA, IBA, Ramsar and Natural Park), a key corridor for wintering and migratory birds of high conservation value.
The opinion highlights that the Preventive and corrective measures proposed by the promoter do not offer sufficient guarantees to avoid, correct or compensate for the conditions detected, and highlights the cumulative effect with other nearby wind farms, especially the Piruquito project, with which it would share part of the electrical evacuation.
It is also stated that the effects would be amplified by the accumulation of infrastructure in the area, potentially compromising ecological connectivity and the integrity of the values ​​that justify existing protection figures.
What is the Corus project like?
Corus contemplated a power of 66 MW distributed in 10 wind turbines, plus three reserve units. Each machine was designed to produce 6,6 MW, with a hub height of 112 m and a rotor diameter of 175 m, which means a maximum height of around 200 m on the tip of a shovel.
The implementation was located in the municipal terms of Ampuero, Guriezo, Liendo, Limpias, Rasines, Ruesga, Voto and SolórzanoThe scheme included a 30 kV underground network to a sectionalizing and metering center, and a overhead-underground evacuation line (AUL) 30 kV with overhead and underground sections that connect to a booster substation shared with the Piruquito wind farm.
The spatial design established distances between wind turbines that ranged between 383 and 1.261 meters, relevant criteria for the purposes of fauna permeability and potential barrier effect.
The environmental study inventoried a relevant occupation surface area on natural and wooded vegetation, with temporary and permanent effects to be restored according to the restoration plan, as well as an overflight of the LAAT that would involve pruning, pollarding or felling to maintain safety zones in certain sections.
Effects on fauna: birds and bats
The fauna assessment identifies more than 100 species of birds in the area, with the presence and hunting of gliding and migratory birds of prey at sensitive altitudes and corridors, and high bat activity. Among the birds of greatest interest are the Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus)’s most emblematic landmarks, the red kite (Milvus milvus), the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), the hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) and the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), among others included in state and regional catalogues.
Fieldwork collects roosts and nests within radii of 1 to 5 km around the park and its line, as well as the existence of rock colonies and feeding points for scavengers in the surroundings, which increases the risk of collision with shovels and power lines, especially in five of the ten wind turbines identified as being at higher risk.
In bats, thousands of contacts were recorded annually and at least 15 species, with relevant detections of the cave bat (Miniopterus schreibersii), the Mediterranean horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus euryale) and the greater horseshoe bat (R. ferrumequinum), vulnerable taxa According to catalogs, potential shelters were located in nearby caves, such as Cueva Los Tocinos or Cueva de la Baja, among others.
Administrations and entities consulted questioned the sufficiency of sampling (phenological dates, simultaneous coverage of the space, cavity inventories), as well as the effectiveness and concreteness of measures such as Selective turbine shutdowns, bird rescuers, conflicting wind turbine protocols and detection and deterrence devices.
Miteco understands that the presence of protected species, the high sensitivity of migratory corridors and the interaction with other planned infrastructures make it impossible to rule out additional mortality and significant losses of habitat and connectivity.
Natura 2000 Network, habitats and vegetation
The route and associated works intercept habitats of community interest (HIC) such as heathlands, dry meadows on calcareous substrates (priority in certain cases) and alluvial forests in river crossings, with crossings over the Asón River ZEC and accesses via the Agüera River ZECHolm oak groves and mixed forests of native hardwoods are also documented throughout the evacuation.
The promoter inventoried a plant matrix largely dominated by eucalyptus reforestation (Eucalyptus globulus) and Monterey pine (Pinus radiata), as well as scrubland and meadows, with the presence of patches of native trees and protected flora cited in the environment (e.g., Culcita macrocarpa, Vandenboschia speciosa or Hymenophyllum tunbrigense), whose detection in the field was considered insufficient due to their seasonality.
The computation is made affecting more than 1,2 million m² of natural and wooded vegetation, distinguishing between temporary conditions to be restored and permanent occupations linked to roads, platforms, supports and safety strips. The regional administration pointed out deficiencies in the quantification by infrastructure and type of affectation on HIC and the absence of a specific restoration plan for such habitats.
The project occupies various public utility forests (among others, Calzadilla and others, Arza, La Maza, Costil and Regatas, Rugrande and others, Labortosa and Rugrande, Caburrado or La Jara), with impacts on ecosystem services and ecological functions, and an initial assessment of the fire risk updated later at the request of the autonomous community, maintaining sections with medium vulnerability and medium-high risk.
Landscape and visibility
The implementation area is included in units of the Atlas of the Landscapes of Spain with high visual exposure close to the coast, and in the surroundings of Landscapes of Regional Relevance such as the Bay and marshes of Santoña, Monte Buciero, the Lower Asón River, the Liendo Valley, Monte Candina or Virgen de las Nieves, among others.
The wind turbines would be visible from numerous towns and main roads (A-8, N-634, N-629), as well as from viewpoints and points of interest in the area. The regional administration questions the quality and fragility assessment carried out by the developer and shows a layout of machines that generates a poorly integrated "branching" effect.
The project study recognizes a significant landscape impact both in construction (clearing, earthworks, machinery) and in operation (visibility of wind turbines, supports and nighttime beaconing), despite proposing integration measures, shielding and minimizing signage.
Due to its altitude on the mountain range, location just a few kilometers from the coast and the high density of potential observers (residents and seasonal visitors in coastal areas), the environmental agency estimates that the modification of the landscape would be significant and difficult to reverse.
Cultural heritage and geological risks
The environment is home to numerous archaeological sites and unique elements, with at least six prehistoric burial mounds identified within the polygon and severe damage expected in several of them, in addition to proximity to assets such as the Yelso de Hayas menhir or historic roads.
La high voltage line would approach just 100 m from the protection perimeter of cavities catalogued as BIC (Cueva de Cobrantes and Cueva Emboscados), in an area with susceptibility to slope movements and karst subsidenceThe absence of a detailed geological-geotechnical study increases the uncertainty about the true extent of the impacts.
The regional Archaeology Section considers that, even with the proposed measures, severe impacts would persist in several heritage elements, and that the effectiveness of the compensation does not neutralize the potential damage derived from the civil works and the occupation.
Cumulative effects and other parks
The synergy analysis presented by the company was considered insufficient by administrations and entities, by not integrating in detail all the projects in the autonomous community process in the environment. The linear potential barrier by the sum of wind turbines and electrical lines within a regional radius.
They are in the environment projects like Piruquito (with shared evacuation infrastructure), Sierra de Sel, Fuente Pico, Las Mazas or Moncubo, in addition to the Cañoneras wind farm (in operation), with interactions on wildlife corridors, landscapes and environmental sensitivity zoned by Miteco itself.
According to the regional administration, sections of the evacuation Corus's pipelines cross for several kilometers areas of maximum sensitivity not recommended for renewables, according to the state's environmental zoning tool, reinforcing the need for a more ambitious cumulative analysis.
Reactions in the territory
Neighborhood and conservationist groups have valued positive the unfavorable DIA, considering it consistent with the allegations presented regarding health, heritage, biodiversity, and the local economy. Platforms and associations see this opinion as a precedent for other projects with similar characteristics in the same region.
Various town councils, neighborhood associations and the Forestry Service of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia had reported against it due to the proximity to critical areas of necrophagous species, the barrier effect and the loss of connectivity, while SEO/BirdLife and Nature and Man Foundation They warned of the high risk of collision for Egyptian vultures, red kites and griffon vultures.
What does an unfavorable EIA entail?
The negative environmental declaration indicates that, in the location and with the proposed design, the project does not pass the environmental acceptance threshold. The EIA, published in the BOE, it is not appealable in itself, without prejudice to actions against administrative decisions that may be adopted in the authorization phases.
If alternatives are to be reconsidered, they should be addressed new environmental analyses that prove the absence of significant effects, incorporating locations, designs and evacuations compatible with the conservation of fauna, habitats, landscape and heritage, and a robust summative assessment with the set of plans for the area.
The decision of Miteco is based on the high environmental and heritage sensitivity of the environment, the presence of protected species and habitats, the proximity to areas of the Natura 2000 Network, the landscape impact on coastal corridors with high visibility and the presence of synergistic effects with other wind farms in the pipeline, reasons why the proposed measures do not guarantee adequate prevention or correction of the detected effects.
