San Miguel residents are taking their objections to the planned solar plant by the state company Acuamed, in its most fertile farmland, direct to the seat of the Alicante Provincial Government, as next Tuesday, 7 May, they plan to hold a demonstration in the Plaza de la Montañeta, directly outside the building occupied by the Provincial Government.
The Town Council, the associations of neighbours and farmers are joining together with the organization of a demonstration outside the offices of the Sub-Delegation of Government next Tuesday, May 7, to protest against what “they consider an attack on the agricultural, landscape and cultural value of the municipality.
A press release states that “The town has welcomed the initiative with an eagerness, and already “there are three buses that have been filled to travel to the provincial capital.”
Residents have already taken to the streets to express their rejection of the installation, which will occupy 200 hectares of the best agricultural land of San Miguel de Salinas, located on the plain of the Campo de Salinas, between the Torrevieja lagoon and the town centre and which would be expropriated by the state company, operated by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition.
The objective of the plant is to provide the supply to the Torrevieja desalination plant to reduce the energy cost in the production of agricultural water, which is now around the euro per cubic meter. The sea drainage water produced by the plant, for the most part, is diverted for the irrigation of the intensive cultivation of the Campo de Cartagena and other Murcian agricultural communities, and to the urban supply of Alicante and Murcia in the event of extreme drought.
The State, which subsidises 70% of the cost of this water to the irrigators spends about 50 million euros in electricity every year to produce up to 80 cubic hectometres per year in the desalination plant, which will also be expanded.
The demonstration, which will depart from the Town Hall at 9:30 a.m., is not yet closed, as the group will charter as many buses as are necessary to accommodate all those people wishing to join them at the demonstration. It is also asking residents of neighbouring towns to join them. Reservations on the coaches are available by calling 965 72 00 01 or through instant messaging, by WhatsApp, on 687 92 06 57.
