Cultural Movement of the Land of Miranda opposes Engie Avelanoso wind farm

Opposition to the Avelanoso wind farm

The Cultural Movement of the Land of Miranda opposes the wind farm proposed under the hybridisation project for the Picote Hydroelectric Power Station, which is currently undergoing public consultation by the French business group Engie. The development would involve fitting 35 wind turbines, with estimated output of 157.5 Megawatts.

“It is not development. It is not progress. It is the continuation of a strategy of plunder, now disguised as an energy transition,” the movement told Jornal de Notícias.

The Avelanoso wind farm would extend across the municipalities of Miranda do Douro and Vimioso, covering an area of 105 hectares.

Engie’s activity on the Miranda Plateau

Engie Group, which includes the company Movhera, owns the three dams on the River Douro along the stretch crossing the Miranda Plateau: Miranda do Douro, Picote and Bemposta, in Mogadouro. Local residents of Miranda accuse the group of now seeking to expand its extractive activity into other resources, including solar energy and wind power.

“First they drained us of the energy from our water. Now they want to take possession of the power of our wind and the light of our sun as well. These resources belong to the Land of Miranda and its people. They cannot continue to be exploited, sold and turned into profits worth billions of euros,” the movement stated in a press release. It also accused the French company of wanting to turn the Land of Miranda into “an energy colony” and the Miranda Plateau “into a vast industrial construction site serving its profits”.