{"id":662602,"date":"2025-04-14T11:40:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T08:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/solar-park-boom-threatens-spains-centuries-old-olive-trees\/"},"modified":"2025-04-14T11:40:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T08:40:17","slug":"solar-park-boom-threatens-spains-centuries-old-olive-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/solar-park-boom-threatens-spains-centuries-old-olive-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar park boom threatens Spain&#8217;s centuries-old olive trees"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a35fd38b6e22\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a35fd38b6e22\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/solar-park-boom-threatens-spains-centuries-old-olive-trees\/#%E2%80%98From_our_ancestors\" >&#8216;From our ancestors&#8217;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/solar-park-boom-threatens-spains-centuries-old-olive-trees\/#%E2%80%98Until_the_end\" >&#8216;Until the end&#8217;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/francisco-ruiz-palomo.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/francisco-ruiz-palomo.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Francisco Ruiz Palomo, president of La Loperana olive oil producers' cooperative, poses in his olive grove in Lopera on March 24, 2025.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/francisco-ruiz-palomo.jpg\" alt=\"Francisco Ruiz Palomo, president of La Loperana olive oil producers' cooperative, poses in his olive grove in Lopera on March 24, 2025\" title=\"Francisco Ruiz Palomo, president of La Loperana olive oil producers' cooperative, poses in his olive grove in Lopera on March 24, 2025.\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Francisco Ruiz Palomo, president of La Loperana olive oil producers&#8217; cooperative, poses in his olive grove in Lopera on March 24, 2025.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>At his farm in southern Spain, Francisco Campos looked worriedly at a green sea of centuries-old olive trees that he fears will face the ax to make way for a proposed solar park.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Cutting down olive trees to install solar panels is a crime,&#8221; the 64-year-old farmer told AFP in Lopera, a town of whitewashed buildings with 3,600 residents in the sunny southern region of Andalusia, Spain&#8217;s olive-growing heartland.<\/p>\n<p>Spain is the world&#8217;s top producer of olive oil, but the fertile agricultural land long used by olive producers is now in high demand from power firms looking to install solar farms.<\/p>\n<p>And with nearly 3,000 hours of sunshine per year, Andalusia is one of the Spanish regions with the highest number of solar panels as a renewables boom makes the country a European leader in green energy.<\/p>\n<p>Renewable energy firms such as Greenalia and FRV Arroyadas have requested permission to build multiple solar farms near Lopera, which farmers say will affect up to 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of property.<\/p>\n<p>The businesses negotiated agreements to lease the bulk of the land required for their projects but encountered significant opposition from hundreds of small landowners.<\/p>\n<p>This prompted the regional government of Andalusia to announce it will expropriate some land needed for the plants, declaring them to be in &#8220;the public interest&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Is it in the public interest for them to take my land and give it to a company so that the company can profit? This has no benefit for us,&#8221; said Campos.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our way of life is going to be destroyed,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/in-support-of-landowne.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/in-support-of-landowne.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"In support of landowners impacted by expropriations, dozens of farmers on tractors protested on a recent morning outside Lopera.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/in-support-of-landowne.jpg\" alt=\"In support of landowners impacted by expropriations, dozens of farmers on tractors protested on a recent morning outside Lopera\" title=\"In support of landowners impacted by expropriations, dozens of farmers on tractors protested on a recent morning outside Lopera.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                In support of landowners impacted by expropriations, dozens of farmers on tractors protested on a recent morning outside Lopera.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98From_our_ancestors\"><\/span>&#8216;From our ancestors&#8217;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Campaigners predict that the eight solar projects planned for the area will require the removal of nearly 100,000 olive trees.<\/p>\n<p>The regional government puts the figure significantly lower, at 13,000.<\/p>\n<p>Local residents anticipated power companies would seek to install solar panels in the area, but they never imagined &#8220;they would come and take away your property,&#8221; said Rafael Alcala, a spokesman for a platform that represents the solar plants&#8217; opponents.<\/p>\n<p>In support of landowners impacted by the latest round of expropriations, dozens of farmers on tractors\u2014some holding signs that read &#8220;We don&#8217;t want solar plants&#8221;\u2014gathered on a recent morning outside Lopera.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;These lands come from our ancestors. What am I going to leave to my children now?&#8221; Maria Josefa Palomo, a 67-year-old pensioner, said at the protest.<\/p>\n<p>Losing 500 hectares of olive groves would wipe out more than two million euros ($2.3 million) in annual revenues, according to local olive oil cooperative La Loperana.<\/p>\n<p>Campaigners say 5,000 olive trees have already been uprooted from land belonging to a farmer in Lopera who signed an agreement with one of the firms behind a solar park. More could follow.<\/p>\n<p>In an effort to stop the projects, opponents have filed lawsuits against the regional government and the companies involved.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/an-olive-tree-stump-is.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/an-olive-tree-stump-is.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"An olive tree stump is pictured in Lopera on March 24, 2025 amid a project to install solar plants.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/an-olive-tree-stump-is.jpg\" alt=\"An olive tree stump is pictured in Lopera on March 24, 2025 amid a project to install solar plants\" title=\"An olive tree stump is pictured in Lopera on March 24, 2025 amid a project to install solar plants.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                An olive tree stump is pictured in Lopera on March 24, 2025 amid a project to install solar plants.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ads w-100 my-4 article-main__more bg-light p-3 border\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-3\">\n        Discover the latest in <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a>, tech, and space with over <strong>100,000 subscribers<\/strong> who rely on Phys.org for daily insights.<br \/>\n        Sign up for our <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sciencex.com\/help\/newsletter\/\" target=\"_blank\">free newsletter<\/a> and get updates on breakthroughs,<br \/>\n        innovations, and research that matter\u2014<strong>daily or weekly<\/strong>.\n    <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Until_the_end\"><\/span>&#8216;Until the end&#8217;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Spain generated a record 56.8% of its electricity last year from renewable sources such as wind and solar, according to grid operator Red Electrica.<\/p>\n<p>Leveraging on its sunny plains, windy hillsides and fast-flowing rivers, Spain intends to raise the share of renewable-generated electricity to 81% of the total by 2030 as part of efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n<p>The regional government has defended the renewables projects, saying less than 1% of the land they use in the region had to be expropriated from reluctant landowners.<\/p>\n<p>Spanish solar industry group UNEF, which represents more than 800 companies, says the projects boost tax revenues in rural communities.<\/p>\n<p>They generate &#8220;significant amounts&#8221; that can be used to improve public services, said UNEF head Jose Donoso.<\/p>\n<p>Solar park opponents in Lopera disagree and vow to continue their fight.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Until the end. Nobody is going to take what is ours away from us,&#8221; said Juan Cantera, a 28-year-old farmer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Olive oil is everything in Lopera&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \u00a9 2025 AFP\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSolar park boom threatens Spain&#8217;s centuries-old olive trees (2025, April 14)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 14 April 2025<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-04-solar-boom-threatens-spain-centuries.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/sciencee\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-04-solar-boom-threatens-spain-centuries.html\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Francisco Ruiz Palomo, president of La Loperana olive oil producers&#8217; cooperative, poses in his olive grove in Lopera on March 24, 2025. At his farm in southern Spain, Francisco Campos looked worriedly at a green sea of centuries-old olive trees that he fears will face the ax to make way for a proposed solar park&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":662603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/francisco-ruiz-palomo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-662602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}