Dear neighbors of Lanzarote:
I write these lines with deep concern about the installation of a wind turbine almost 80 meters high in La Santa, Tinajo, in the heart of an island declared a Biosphere Reserve.
Zero sensitivity to the territory
How is it possible that a project of this magnitude has gone through multiple administrative bodies — Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture of the Government of the Canary Islands, Cabildo of Lanzarote, City Council of Tinajo — without anyone noticing the landscape aggression it represents?
César Manrique already warned about it decades ago with the high-voltage towers: Lanzarote's landscape is fragile, unique, and unrepeatable. To break it is to betray it.
Abandonment of the countryside, but not like this
For decades, the farmers of this island have been systematically abandoned. Now, when a light finally seems to be visible to diversify the rural economy, the price we are asked to pay is to destroy what makes us unique. However, we have technicians from afar who decide without understanding the local idiosyncrasy.
We recall that Luis Planas himself, when he was Minister of Agriculture, visited Lanzarote and met with Oswaldo Betancort. What was the point of that?
Alternatives exist and are viable
We are not against clean energy. We are against irresponsible locations. Options exist:
Why has no administration, technician, or professional proposed the installation of the wind turbine in an alternative location with less environmental impact, for example, in the Zonzamas area?
It is difficult to understand that, with multiple energy generation and compensation mechanisms currently in place, the possibility of locating the wind turbine in a more suitable environment from an environmental and landscape perspective has not been seriously studied.
Electricity production no longer necessarily requires the generating installation to be located next to the point of consumption. Modern electrical grids allow energy to be generated in one place and consumed kilometers away without significant loss of functionality.
Therefore, the question arises whether alternatives such as:
The location of the wind turbine in industrial or degraded areas, such as Zonzamas or other sites with less environmental sensitivity.
Energy compensation systems through balance or supply agreements.
Virtual battery models that allow associating the energy generated in an installation with consumption located at another point on the island.
Collective self-consumption or energy communities formulas, fully contemplated in current regulations.
If these alternatives exist technically and legally, why are they discarded? Where is the comparative analysis that justifies that the only viable solution is to install a large wind turbine precisely at the currently proposed site?
The absence of a public and transparent evaluation of these options generates reasonable doubts as to whether the alternative with the least environmental, territorial, and landscape impact has truly been chosen.
A call
We demand that the Biosphere Reserve Council, environmental groups, and all involved institutions act now—not when the damage is irreversible.
The energy transition must be with Lanzarote, not against Lanzarote.
For an island that respects its landscape, its history, and its people.
For our land.
The president of the management of Liberación Canaria de Lanzarote,
Nicolás Cabrera Acosta.
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