OBJECTIVES

Ambiosolar aims to assess the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the current model of solar energy deployment in Campo de Tabernas and to make constructive proposals for land use planning.

IMPACT ON BIODIVERSITY

The unplanned deployment of photovoltaic plants on a territory can have a major impact on biodiversity. The use of solar energy requires a large amount of space, so its development can lead to the loss and/or fragmentation of valuable habitats and, therefore, can have a severe impact on animal and plant species, on the ecosystem and on the services it provides us with.

Photovoltaic plant and Tabernas Solar Platform | Luis Bolonio

European roller | Luis Bolonio

In California, where there is a significant solar energy development, it is estimated that 12.5 million birds will die over the next 25 years due to habitat loss or death by collision
Smallwood 2022, Journal of Wildlife Management, 86: e22216; https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22216

All in all, it is necessary to know in detail the distribution of steppe birds in Campo de Tabernas, their habitat requirements and how photovoltaic plants affect them. This knowledge will make it possible to plan and manage the implementation of solar energy with the lowest possible impact on these species.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT

The large land occupation required by solar power plants has an impact on the landscape, cultural heritage, soil, and traditional and sustainable agricultural and livestock uses, with the socio-economic implications that each of these has.

Photovoltaic plant and Tabernas Solar Platform | Luis Bolonio

Examples

The massive installation of these plants competes with agricultural uses, reducing this activity and making difficult to lease or to transfer agricultural plots for cultivation, and the incorporation of young farmers into the rural activities. This is because, among other things, solar plants installation increases the price of agricultural land. These mega-projects also reduce the possibilities for sustainable tourism in rural areas, ultimately causing an exodus of their inhabitants, and making the problem of rural depopulation even worse.

Following the European Landscape Convention, Ambiosolar considers the landscape “as a fundamental element of the human environment, as an expression of the diversity of its common cultural and natural heritage, and as a foundation of its identity”. Accordingly, our study of the landscape includes its cultural condition, its ecological structure and its status as a provider of ecosystem services (the benefits that an ecosystem brings to society).

Given the surface and landscape predominance of agriculture and livestock farming in the study area, Ambiosolar will assess the impact of photovoltaic plants on the socio-economic importance of agricultural and livestock farming landscapes, specifically looking at the jobs and income that may be lost due to the disappearance of farmland. These studies will be complemented by a participatory analysis of the values of the region and the conflicts involved in the deployment of photovoltaic infrastructure in Campo de Tabernas.

SPATIAL PLANNING PROPOSALS

Ambiosolar will produce scientific and technical knowledge on the impact of solar energy development on biodiversity and economic aspects of Campo de Tabernas. This will allow to make land-use planning proposals to minimise these impacts and make the development of renewable energies compatible with the heritage and way of life of the inhabitants of Campo de Tabernas.

These land-use planning proposals will have a scientific-technical basis and will be developed through a participatory process with the inhabitants and socio-economic actors of the region. Our aim is to obtain information that can apply to other areas, so that Ambiosolar can contribute to an improved energy transition process in Spain.