The Tías City Council has conveyed its concern about the model for implementing photovoltaic installations promoted by the Cabildo de Lanzarote and the Government of the Canary Islands, after verifying the growing social rejection generated in the municipality.
The meeting held this past Thursday with neighbors of Mácher has left a clear message: the citizenry "does not share the way in which this deployment is being planned" and demands a planning "more ordered, transparent and respectful of the territory".
During the meeting, the residents warned that, if this model is not reviewed, they are considering the possibility of promoting mobilizations before the Cabildo de Lanzarote and the Government of the Canary Islands. The neighbors conveyed their concern about the impact that these projects may have on agricultural land, the landscape, and the quality of life, emphasizing the need to ensure that the energy transition develops with criteria of sustainability, territorial balance, and social consensus.
The mayor of Tías, José Juan Cruz, has pointed out that “from the City Council we are going to accompany our neighbors, guaranteeing that their concerns are heard and defended in all instances. A model for the implementation of renewables cannot be imposed behind the back of the territory nor of those who live and work in it.”
In this context, the Tías City Council has shown its support for the citizenry and has committed to "maintain a continuous line of information, as well as to provide technical and legal support for the presentation of allegations and, where appropriate, the actions that are deemed appropriate".
Likewise, the City Council has urged the groups of the Popular Party and Canarian Coalition in Tías to position themselves with clarity in defense of the general interest of the municipality.
For his part, the deputy mayor, Nicolás Saavedra, has insisted that “nobody disputes the need to advance in renewable energies, but that advance cannot be made at any price nor by putting at risk spaces of high agricultural, landscape, and social value. The energy transition must be done well, with planning, with sufficient public information and listening to the residents.”
Neighborhood concern extends to different areas of the municipal district, where the possible implementation of facilities in sensitive enclaves is foreseen, such as the area between the Toro roundabout and Puerto Calero, areas near Rancho Texas, areas close to the airport, the Vega de Mácher, the Conil area on the Peña del Asiento road and also the Hoya Limpia area, in Tías.
Saavedra added that “what the municipality is asking for is common sense. Tías cannot assume a massive and disorderly deployment that compromises its landscape, its identity, and the balance of its rural centers. Territorial planning cannot be relegated in the face of decisions made without considering the reality of the municipality”.
During the meeting, the main demand conveyed to the Cabildo de Lanzarote was clear: the need to halt these projects until a consensual plan is in place, transparent and adapted to the reality of Tías.