The Ecomarca Platform for the Defence and Protection of Southeast Tenerife called for a new citizens’ gathering on Thursday, 11 September, from 17:00 to 18:30, in the town square of Güímar.
The mobilisation aims to halt the installation of the El Pilón wind farms, planned in areas of high landscape value, where protected spaces and rural communities converge, which, they assert, “depend directly on the ecological balance of the territory.”
Ecomarca emphasised in its statement that it does not oppose renewable energy, but rather the current model of deployment, which it considers “imposed, top-down and profit-oriented, without real participation or compensation for the local population.” The platform criticised projects such as those planned around the Herques ravine, Natural Monument, or within the Special Natural Reserve of Malpaís de Güímar, describing them as “an assault on a fragile landscape,” in addition to threatening agriculture and the quality of life of nearby communities.
The organisation demands “a fair energy transition that respects the territory and listens to its inhabitants.”
They also assert “the right of communities to decide on their development model” and raise concerns regarding the visual and acoustic impact of infrastructures that “will not provide tangible benefits to the area,” they stated.
MEETING WITH THE MAYOR
Simultaneously, Ecomarca requested a formal meeting with the new municipal government. It is noteworthy that the Güímar Town Council recently approved, in an extraordinary plenary session, a motion of outright rejection of these projects, supported by over eighty public objections.
In that vote, only the People’s Party opposed the motion, a party which currently holds municipal power following the initiation of a motion of no confidence. Güímar’s Mayor, Carmen Luisa Castro, expressed in statements to this newspaper that, in her view, “the main impact would be visual, given that the area is sparsely populated,” and indicated her intention to engage in conversations with the promoting company.
