ENVIRONMENTALISTS are opposing plans for a new hydrogen gas pipeline linking Valencia province with the Murcia region.
The Ecologists in Action group says the 206-kilometre-long connection would cross natural areas of great ecological value and endanger habitats of protected species.
The route would link Montesa in the north with Cartagena in the south.
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Opponents say a trick is being played where the pipeline project has been split into 15 sub-sections to avoid a environmental impact assessment to investigate the consequences of the whole enterprise.
Ecologists in Action says the ruse violates European law which guarantees the right of people to participate in an environmental decision-making progress.
They add there is little technical or energy justification to support such a project which they claim is ‘oversized’ due to the low level of green hydrogen production in Spain.
The group claims the pipeline would affect over 13,700 hectares of land containing priority habitats and endangered species such as the Bonelli’s eagle, the falcon, and several species of bats and hedgehogs.
Around 70 kilometres of the route would run through or be next to protected areas such as the Serres de Mariola-Font Roja and Sierra de Escalona- both in Alicante province.
The planned work involves creating access routes up to 17 meters wide and the use of heavy machinery, which would cause dust and noise as well as a risk of polluting vulnerable aquifers, according to Ecologists in Action.
They’ve demanded an immediate stop to plans for the Montesa-Cartagena pipeline, as well a comprehensive environmental assessment of the country’s entire hydrogen gas nework.
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