"Residents file lawsuit against massive solar farm project in Silves," 17 January 2024

Local residents have filed a lawsuit against a project to build a... 96-hectare solar farm in Algoz, Silves.

The Residents Association of Larga Vista, Foral filed the lawsuit at Loulé Court on January 10, citing major concerns over the project’s “ecological footprint” and “lack of community engagement” despite the association’s support of renewable energy.

The project is led by Neoen... a... renewable energy company... in France.

Construction of the solar farm is set to begin very soon...

...Local residents are hoping that the legal action they have taken will stop the construction from moving forward.

The planned solar farm will include 102,399 solar panels, eight transformers, a substation, and 5km of overhead high-tension lines. 

As the residents point out, “this massive project is positioned alarmingly close to residential areas, as little as 20 metres in places, and is located above critical groundwater resources.” The association also highlights that the solar farm is due to be built on land classified as REN (National Ecological Reserve).

Considering all these concerns, the association decided this month to move forward with a lawsuit, the main basis of which is the “lack of a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)”...