The Government denies the construction of two large photovoltaic parks on rural land in Ariany and Maria

ArianyThe Government, through the Ministry of Business, Self-Employed and Energy, has resolved to deny the continuation of procedures and prior administrative authorization for the Alten Mallorca III photovoltaic park projects, located in the municipality of Maria de la Salut, and Alten Mallorca IV, located in Ariany. Both projects, known for the Montblanc estates in Maria and Son Boscà in Ariany, planned the installation of two recognized power plants with corresponding energy evacuation lines on rural land.

Regarding the magnitude of the installations, each park had a planned power of 11.6 megawatts (11,600 kW). In the case of Alten Mallorca III, in Maria de la Salut, the project planned the installation of more than 24,000 solar panels over an area of nearly 20 hectares (194,200 square meters). If the Alten Mallorca IV park in Ariany, with identical capacity and similar dimensions, is added, the Government's denial prevents the direct occupation of nearly 40 hectares of agricultural rural land between the two municipalities of Pla de Mallorca.

The Government's decision is decisively based on the reports from the Directorate General of Urban Planning Harmonization and Environmental Assessment, which depend on the Ministry of Housing, Territory and Mobility. This environmental body issued unfavorable environmental impact statements for both installations, as it considered that the projects were not compatible with the preservation of the environment. Given this mandatory and binding pronouncement, the technical services of the Directorate General of Circular Economy, Energy Transition and Climate Change have concluded that it is not appropriate to continue with the processing or grant the declaration of a strategic industrial project.

In the case of Maria de la Salut, the installation had been planned on a plot in industrial estate five, while in Ariany the park was located in industrial estate one of the municipality. The promoting companies had requested the processing throughout 2023, but the unfavorable environmental resolution has definitively closed the ordinary administrative route, even though the promoters can still file the corresponding appeals.

This resolution puts a brake on the proliferation of large solar energy installations on agricultural land in the Pla de Mallorca region. In recent years, the multiplication of such projects has generated considerable concern among mayors, agricultural entities such as APAEMA, and neighborhood platforms, who insistently demand adequate territorial planning that prioritizes building roofs, industrial estates, and already degraded areas for the installation of photovoltaic panels instead of occupying land for agricultural or livestock use.

It should be recalled that in the case of Maria de la Salut, objections had been filed and the processing of these photovoltaic parks had been requested to be suspended. Now, the mayors of Ariany, Joan Ribot, and Maria, Jaume Ferriol, state that they respect the decision that has been made. "If the reports are negative, it must be because they did not meet all the requirements and in Maria there were people from the town who had shown themselves to be against it," said Ferriol, who also added that "if it had been done, it would have provided significant income to the town" and also considered that the chosen location did not have "any major visual impact, as it could not be seen from anywhere, you had to go there on purpose." His counterpart from Ariany explained that "we have to accept the denial reports, it is not a municipal competence. We have always advocated for renewable energies, but it must be done with knowledge and measure."

With these two denials, the rural lands of Maria de la Salut and Ariany maintain their traditional use in the face of the pressure of large energy developments.