The mayor of Arico is sounding the alarm about the "brutal" impact of wind and solar power plants.

Two months before Andrés Martínez (of the People's Party) becomes mayor, and while the government of the Canary Islands is discussing how to accelerate the development of renewable energy, the mayor of the municipality of Arico, Olivia Delgado (of the PSOE), is sounding the alarm. She says that wind and solar power plants are having a "brutal" impact on her municipality – on the people, the economy, and nature. She adds: "You can't cover up what isn't green with greenery. They are destroying our land, which has great value – both historical and ecological."

Arico has filed an objection to being included in the accelerated renewable energy development zone. This means that new wind and solar power plants could appear there. But the local authorities believe that this is wrong.

Olivia Delgado complains that most of the wind turbines and solar panels in their municipality were installed citing "public interest," and "without asking the municipality's opinion." But it is the local authorities who should decide how to use the land. Therefore, they had to adapt their plans to the already approved power plants. "We have opposed this many times in Arico council meetings and submitted reports, but no one pays attention to them," the mayor explains. She demands that a "cumulative impact study" be carried out, which is not currently done. "They assess each park separately, but do not take into account how much is already in the municipality, and do not ask the opinion of the local authorities. This is not acceptable," she emphasizes.

In addition to objecting to the declaration of Arico as an accelerated renewable energy development zone, Delgado believes that the government of the Canary Islands should focus on producing clean energy "where it is most consumed," that is, in large cities. There, she believes, it is necessary to support the creation of energy cooperatives and provide funding for them.

"We need to stop building only wind and solar power plants, because that is not the solution. We see the chaos this has caused in Arico, and now new parks want to be built in other municipalities. People have already said 'enough.' We don't want what happened in Arico to be repeated in other places, such as Fasnia or Güímar."

Olivia Delgado demands that renewable energy be implemented "in an orderly manner," according to a plan. And also, that what has already been built in municipalities like hers be taken into account. "We want the authorities to recognize that areas like Arico are already oversaturated with these facilities, and this has irreversible consequences. The cumulative impact needs to be studied," she insists.

The possibility of declaring Arico an "oversaturated zone" was discussed at a round table on renewable energy established by the government of the Canary Islands. There, Olivia Delgado represents the Canary Federation of Municipalities (Fecam).

There are already about thirty wind and solar power plants in Arico, and some more are planned to be built. The mayor asks the Ministry of Ecological Transition to "change its policy by 180 degrees" on the implementation of renewable energy.

"We demand that the government of the Canary Islands listen to us and take into account the opinion of the municipalities. After all, we live in a small area, and everything needs to be done correctly and wisely." And in conclusion, she adds: "If you release a bird in Granadilla, it won't reach Fasnia."