“More than 140 bird species are threatened by this project. Among them are some of the largest populations in Portugal at the Tejo Internacional, such as the Black Vulture, and exclusive species like the Great Bustard,” stated a civic platform dedicated to the protection of the PNTI, comprised of citizens, entities, and associations both national and international, in a statement sent to the Lusa agency.
They argued that the study area of the photovoltaic plant “overlaps with a critical area for steppe birds and a critical area for birds of prey.”
“Seven priority conservation habitats will be destroyed by this project. These habitats are part of the EU Habitats Directive, which Portugal is obliged to protect, and have been transposed into Portuguese law by Decree-Law No. 140/99, of April 24,” they asserted.
The platform also highlighted that around 8% of the plant’s area is occupied by community interest habitats, noting that “habitat 6310 (Cork Oak and Holm Oak Groves) is the most abundant, occupying about 62 hectares, followed by habitat 5330, occupying about 20 hectares of the plant’s area.”
“The project plans to install 425,600 modules, which will destroy 464 cork and holm oaks, just in the area where the plant will be set up, not counting the thousands of trees and shrubs along the 33-kilometer corridor of the power line,” they argued.
According to the Platform for the Defense of the PNTI, the entire photovoltaic plant project falls within the proposed amendment area of the special protection zone of the Tejo Internacional, Erges, and Pônsul.
The Beira photovoltaic plant project involves the installation of 425,600 photovoltaic modules, boasting a total capacity of 266 Megawatts (MW), over an area of 524.4 hectares spanning the municipalities of Castelo Branco (Monforte da Beira, Malpica do Tejo, Benquerenças, União das Freguesias de Escalos de Baixo e Mata and Castelo Branco) and Idanha-a-Nova (Ladoeiro and União das Freguesias de Idanha-a-Nova e Alcafozes).
The platform noted that it will resort to all available means, including legal action, with complaints in the courts and at the European Commission.
