The Government of Aragon has prepared a draft law that contemplates the creation of new environmental taxes on the exploitation of wind and photovoltaic parks. This joins Galicia, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha and Cantabria, which already have this tax on renewable energies. In addition, the environmental tax on high-voltage electricity transmission facilities is modified.

With these taxes, a collection of about 31 million euros a year is expected, which will be used to finance preventive, corrective or restorative and regenerative measures of the landscape and areas negatively altered by visual impact or conditions in the natural environment due to the implementation of these energies. .

Self-consumption facilities without surpluses and power facilities of less than 500 kW are exempt from said tax.

The objective of the law is to regulate the generation of environmental and visual conditions and impacts on the natural environment of the Autonomous Community of Aragon due to the exploitation of wind and photovoltaic farms, trying to contribute to preserving the environment as it is considered to be well protected.

This was announced by the President of the Government of Aragon, Javier Lambán, in a meeting with representatives of three associations of municipalities for the management of renewable energies: Altiplano, Viento Alto and Majalinos.

These associations have a total of 32 associated municipalities in the regions of Andorra-Sierra de Arcos, Cuencas Mineras, Bajo Aragón and Maestrazgo.

Lambán explained that the purpose of creating two new taxes “is embedded in the commitment to sustainability of all Executive policies.”

He also specified that, in the same way that strict application of the regulations regarding installation is followed, “the exploitation of renewable plants must also be careful due to possible effects on the environment through selective exploitation, degradation or the damage to natural resources.

The associations hope that the new tax will be accepted among the affected localities, which they will see as part of this tax has a positive impact on their environment.

“We are going to be the direct losers of the visual and environmental impact of the parks, which is why the tax must be well received in the municipalities and associations,” according to Carlos Abril, mayor of Alfambra and president of the Altiplanos Renovables association.

The Aragonese president defended his own energy model, which already has regulations to enhance the generation capacity of renewables, which makes Aragón “a leading community, capable of attracting business investment”.. Lambán recalled that the goal is to be self-sufficient and lower the bill for families and Aragonese companies.

In addition to planning networks, local consumption is promoted and, especially, self-consumption, in a pioneering initiative in the Spanish regional framework, according to Lambán.

Regarding the opposition movements to this type of facilities, the Aragonese president pointed out that they are directed “not against the authorizations, but against the requests made”, specifying that the granting of licenses has been “quite restrictive”.. In his opinion, most of the criticisms made of this model of energy development “have an excessively negative and distorting component of reality.”