"It's like a box of bombs": Pollença residents organize to stop an investment fund's lithium battery plant
The facility, which is intended to be built on rural land, would occupy a 3,000 square meter property just a few meters from a stream and only three meters from several houses and agricultural and livestock farms.
PalmTonight at 8 p.m., a meeting was held at the Pollença Club by residents of the Almadrava area and the Llenaire road to inform the public of the risks posed by the construction of the Jilguero ST.1 lithium battery plant, promoted by the US investment fund Atlántica Energía. The meeting comes after, according to one of the affected residents, the project was discovered almost by chance: "No one had told us anything. We found out through the newspapers on October 3, and from then on, we began to investigate it on our own."
The facility, which is planned to be built on rural land, would occupy a 3,000-square-meter property just a few meters from a stream and only three meters from several houses and agricultural and livestock farms. The project includes 16 containers with lithium-ion batteries, designed to store energy and send it to the electricity grid during peak demand. But for residents, this initiative is incompatible with the reality of the area. "This is outrageous.
We're talking about a flood-prone area, full of inhabited properties, and it doesn't even have adequate access in case of a fire," explains the resident. "It's like having a bomb shelter next to your house. And if something happens, you can't put it out. It's already happened in other places."
Residents cite, for example, the fire at a lithium battery plant in California in 2022, which lasted for weeks and forced the evacuation of several homes. "It's a very sensitive technology, very thermal, and the temperatures here are not conducive at all." In fact, one of the biggest contradictions they've found in the project's official documentation concerns the thermal factor: "The company says temperatures in Pollença don't exceed 30 degrees. This is a lie. In summer, the temperature far exceeds this figure, and that's key, because the batteries work well around 15 degrees."
"The company's environmental study acknowledges that it could explode."
The criticism isn't just about the location. The neighborhood has analyzed in detail the documentation submitted by Atlántica Energía Sostenible and asserts that the project's environmental study itself recognizes the risks posed by the facility. "It literally says it can explode, that it can leak, and that it can contaminate streams and aquifers. They say so themselves! It's not just our opinion," they explain.
Faced with the feeling of institutional opacity and lack of information, they have commissioned an independent environmental study prepared by industry professionals. "We don't trust the study the company conducted. It's full of contradictions. We wanted a rigorous analysis conducted locally and designed to protect what we have."
Criticism of the City Council and a clear request: relocate the project
Another recurring criticism from those affected is the role of Pollença City Council. "We found this out of the blue, with only 15 days left to file complaints right now. How come no one informed us before?" they ask. After meeting with the mayor, they assure us that the City Council has committed to filing complaints, but they believe the reaction has been delayed and that it has been the residents who have had to do the research and information work.
"We have had to do the work of the Administration. We are doing it because we are forced to, not because we like it. We are talking about people's health and safety."
Therefore, the request they will make to the City Council and the Government is clear: stop the project as planned and relocate it to an industrial site, away from inhabited and agricultural areas. In this regard, they recall legislative initiatives such as the one achieved by the Greens of Asturias, which prohibits this type of installation within 1,000 meters of homes and 500 meters of agricultural holdings.
Meeting at the Pollença Club: information, strategy, and allegations
This afternoon's meeting was not just an informative session. The details of the Jilguero ST.1 project were explained in detail, along with the concerns it raises among residents. The project's founder, an American investment fund with interests in similar facilities around the world, was also explained.
In addition, a practical section was organized: several legal representatives helped attendees prepare and present their arguments, explaining how to do so, which arguments are most effective, and how public pressure can be applied. All this was done under a slogan already circulating on social media and in the streets of Pollença: "Stop lithium-ion battery plant."
The promoters of the meeting assure that there is still room to stop the project, that if it obtains all the permits it could be built during 2026 and enter into operation in the summer of 2027. "We are on time, but we cannot wait for someone else to do it for us. It is up to us to make noise," concludes the noise.