Greenalia makes progress with 25.2 MW Gato wind farm development in Spain

• The project, made public today, together with its environmental impact study, includes – among other information – reports on archeology, birds and bats in the area
• The Wind Farm consists of six wind turbines, mobilizes 250 jobs and a 23 million euros investment
• The company has proposed a plan to enhance the value of the Monte do Gato necropolis

Greenalia will develop the 25.2 MW Gato wind farm, with six wind turbines distributed between the municipalities of Oza-Cesuras and Aranga. The machines will have a hub height of 112 m and a rotor diameter of 136 m, producing 74.455 MWh/year. The development of this wind farm is part of the 135 MW awarded to Greenalia in the recent renewable energy auction held by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

The project was carried with three core objectives for the company: protecting the environment; wind-power development in areas with top resource; and its strategic component. Its design has been completed in three phases: first came an environmental analysis aiming to determine areas with restrictions, then a technical study for the project’s development, and finally a verification of the possible environmental impacts. Through the various studies, the farm was designed by selecting the option presenting the lowest environmental impact, primarily regarding vegetation, landscape, and cultural and touristic heritage, so as to ensure that all elements of the wind farm were compatible with the values of its surroundings.

A special section has been dedicated to heritage, where it is specified that the location of the installation will not affect the integral protection areas for the archeological sites existing in the area. However, given that access to the wind farm will be achieved via an existing road that runs close to some Monte do Gato necropolis archeological sites, a plan to enhance the necropolis’ value has been implemented.

This proposal includes the continuous cleaning of the tumuli and their access routes over time, and the implementation of new signage and signposting within the area – a series of measures that will improve the area’s state of conservation.

All this will be carried out in coordination with regional heritage departments. Likewise, during construction work, strict archeological control will be implemented, ensuring that in the event that any archeological or paleontological remains are discovered, activity will be immediately suspended, and the competent authorities will be alerted.

Implementation of 270 MW in the coming years

With this wind farm, Greenalia will continue to advance in the development of wind power in our community – with 46.5 MW of wind turbines currently in operation and a further 27.7 MW in construction, adding-up to a total of 74 MW, to which another 270 MW will be added in the next few years. Over the course of 2021, the company will begin construction of the wind farms ready for development included in its Eolo I plan, which will amount to a total of 135 MW and for which funding has already been agreed. To this we add a further 135 MW awarded in January in the Ministry of Ecological Transition’s renewables auction. In total, 270 MW will be progressively implemented from 2022 onwards.