SPEA warns that new wind and solar projects in the Algarve threaten biodiversity

The Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) believes the Algarve is under pressure due to a new wave of wind and solar projects that threaten biodiversity.

SPEA is monitoring "with concern the increase in renewable energy projects (particularly solar power plants and wind farms) in ecologically sensitive areas", often supported by Environmental Impact Studies (EIA) "inadequate and deficient, in non-compliance with good Environmental Impact Assessment practices and national and Community nature conservation legislation".

In a note sent to newsrooms today, the environmental society says that several projects "with a strong territorial and ecological impact on the interior of the Algarve" are undergoing environmental impact assessment, namely:

• Hybridization Project of the Alcoutim Photovoltaic Plant (Solara4);
• Wind Hybridization Projects for the Photovoltaic Plants of Viçoso, Pereiro, São Marcos and Albercas;
• Pereiro Photovoltaic Solar Power Plant and its very high voltage line;
• Silves Wind Farm;
• Cachopo Wind Farm.

Adding together the projects under analysis and those already in operation, "it is expected that 110 wind turbines will be installed in an area of approximately 500 km², without an integrated territorial approach, compromising the ecological sustainability of the region."

For Rita Ferreira, Senior Conservation Technician at SPEA, "the energy transition cannot be undertaken at the expense of biodiversity. The way these projects are being planned jeopardizes decades of effort in conserving iconic species and their future."

Soaring birds, particularly birds of prey, are among the groups most directly affected by collisions with wind turbines and/or collisions with and/or electrocution by power lines, due to their flight behavior, high longevity and low productivity.

Mortality in these infrastructures can affect already fragile populations, especially when projects are installed in their breeding, feeding, or dispersal/migration areas.

Projects under evaluation jeopardize important areas for birds

SPEA warns of the risk of the massive installation of these projects in the northeastern Algarve, "a crucial region for the conservation of endangered species protected by national and European legislation, such as the Bonelli's eagle (which has its main breeding ground in the country here), the Iberian imperial eagle (classified as Critically Endangered), the golden eagle, and the griffon vulture, which uses the important bird dispersal and migration corridor that crosses the Algarve mountains. All areas where these species depend during the various stages of their life cycle are protected by law."

Serious shortcomings in environmental impact assessment processes

SPEA also warns of the weaknesses of the EIAs, particularly those of these hybridization projects, "which present serious flaws, such as the lack of study of alternative locations, insufficient analysis of flight patterns and space use by soaring birds, underestimation of the risk of disturbance to breeding pairs and the risk of collision, and underestimation of cumulative impacts. Both projects plan to locate wind turbines just 1 kilometer (km) from active Bonelli's eagle and Iberian imperial eagle nests, without analyzing their effects on territory abandonment and population dynamics at the regional, national, and Iberian levels."

The first step must be to avoid mortality

The Malhanito Wind Farm, with 29 wind turbines, is located in the dispersal and migration corridor of the northeastern Algarve, close to the projects currently under evaluation. According to the Final Bird and Chiropteran Monitoring Report ( Bioinsight 2016), eight griffon vulture deaths were recorded between 2013 and 2016, with adjusted estimates of 9 to 10 per year.

Located in areas of enclosed valleys and ridges that generate orographic and thermal currents that concentrate the movement of soaring birds, the park exposes them to a high risk of collision—an impact that could have been avoided through more careful consideration of project location. Despite this, the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for projects under consideration for adjacent areas, such as Solara4, "ignored this evidence."

To minimize fatalities from collisions with wind turbines, the EIA proposes the installation of automatic bird detection and arrest systems (ADS) based on video and artificial intelligence as a central measure. These systems, "poorly tested and of uncertain effectiveness," according to the SPEA, "cannot justify the installation of wind turbines in ecologically unsuitable areas. They violate the mitigation hierarchy principle established in European legislation, which requires first avoiding and only then minimizing and compensating."

SPEA's position

SPEA argues that projects located in ecologically sensitive areas, essential for the conservation of protected and endangered species, such as the northeastern Algarve, "should not be implemented. The energy transition is essential, but it must be based on appropriate and robust Environmental Impact Assessments that ensure compliance with environmental legislation and the safeguarding of biodiversity."

On the other hand, "the lack of viable alternatives, the pressure for rapid licensing, and the underestimation of impacts on natural heritage undermine the credibility and trust in these processes. Projects must be compatible with the ecological values of the territories in which they are located and not imposed on already vulnerable communities and ecosystems. It is the responsibility of the Public Administration to ensure the application of the precautionary principle, the rigorous evaluation of alternatives, and institutional transparency, ensuring that the public interest prevails over short-term economic interests."

SPEA "will continue to demand that the energy transition in Portugal be compatible with biodiversity conservation and national and European environmental commitments," concludes the statement, which is also signed by the organizations Fapas, Geota, League for the Protection of Nature, Quercus, and WWF Portugal.

The Iberian imperial eagle, one of Europe's most endangered birds, was once extinct as a breeding bird in Portugal and today has a very restricted distribution within the country, making greater protection of the areas used by the species crucial. Currently, the main cause of mortality for these three large eagle species in the Iberian Peninsula is electrocution, so the cumulative effect of a wave of new solar and wind projects, and associated power lines, in a region so important to these birds cannot be overlooked.