The Norwegian multinational Statkraft has initiated proceedings to launch one of the two wind farm projects it has in Gipuzkoa and Álava. Having regard to the request for prior administrative authorisation for the construction of the wind farm called Piaspe, between Azpeitia, Errezil and Zestoa, made in the Territorial Delegation of Gipuzkoa of the Industrial Administration of the Basque Government, and published this Tuesday in the Official Gazette of Gipuzkoa,

The request was made on 27 October by the company Desarrollo Renewables Iberia PI, S.L.U., based in Madrid. The project includes five wind turbines with a total power of 33 MW, as Statkraft said, the towers will be 205 meters high. The magazine's announcement lists the coordinate of each windmill, although the company in its presentation in Azpeitia indicated that the location is not yet secure.

Once the prior application for authorisation has been published, the other “natural or legal persons” have a period of 20 days to attend them. In fact, in Euskal Herria in recent years other multinationals are presenting numerous projects for the construction of large wind farms, such as Iberdrola and Capital Energy.

The second wind farm designed by Statkraft, that of Itsa, which would run between Aramaio and Eskoriatza, is waiting for other formalities, since, being of greater power, it must be requested by the Ministry of Industry of the Government of Spain.

On 16 November the City of Aramaio will hold an information meeting with the citizens to deal with the wind farm.

Zestoa City Hall calls for a “global strategy”

After meeting with the public on 4 November, the Zestoa Municipal Government has pointed out that it has little information about the wind farm in Piaspe and that it cannot protect its "scarce data" today. It shows great concern about the impact of transporting wind turbines and the environmental impact that the project would generate.

However, the municipal government has shown its willingness to analyze the project, as it sees “novelties” about “energy ownership” and considers that “to give an energy transition from will be necessary ‘high-intensity equipment’”. However, he says that to analyze how these facilities should be, a “global strategy” is necessary: “on the one hand at the level of Euskal Herria and on the other at the local level, based on citizen participation and community reflection”.

Mayor Mikel Arrangi (EH Bildu) spoke at last Friday’s meeting, explaining that the issue is not “solvable overnight”. In this sense, he pointed out that along with citizenship, a process of “reflection and empowerment” will be initiated.

In the assembly, besides the environmental impact of the project, questions were asked about other alternatives and the relationship between the municipalities, as Uztarria gathers in his chronicle. “We can’t say we think the same,” Arrangi explained, but clarified that the debate is always “enriching.”