A planned very high-voltage power line (MAT) connecting Aragon and Tarragona has reignited debate over Catalonia's energy model, with opponents arguing it will harm rural areas and energy sovereignty. Local institutions, farmers, and environmental groups are against the infrastructure, which they call a "new iron scar" that will "mortgage" the landscape and socio-economic development of the territory, according to critics. They fear the MAT could open the door to more wind and solar farms.
Red Eléctrica, the Spanish grid operator, states it will "agree" on the MAT's route and engage in a "dialogue process." This willingness to negotiate is welcomed by local groups, but they remain wary. Unió de Pagesos (UP), a farmers' union, met with Red Eléctrica but continues to demand the project's withdrawal. The line will span 180 kilometres, from Escatrón in Zaragoza to La Secuita in Tarragona, affecting 28 municipalities in Terra Alta, Ribera d'Ebre, Priorat, Baix Camp, and Tarragonès.
Red Eléctrica is currently processing permits to dismantle existing infrastructure and build a new line with triple the power and taller towers. The company maintains this project is part of the Spanish government's planning and will be a "transversal and strategic axis" for Tarragona, particularly for the "decarbonisation" and "electrification" of the chemical industry.
However, opponents claim large energy companies are only seeking profits from rural, depopulated, and ageing territories where landowners are farmers facing a "permanent crisis" in agricultural income and a lack of generational succession. Salomó Torres, a representative of Pagesia Gran from Unió de Pagesos, described the companies' offer of rent for parts of farms as "emotional blackmail." Farmers view their land as their "pension plan," he explained. "This does not happen where agriculture is active, where there is still a stable agricultural income and where patrimonial value still makes sense," Torres said.
Local Opposition Mounts
Unió de Pagesos believes this is the main reason the MAT will pass through Ribera d'Ebre, Les Garrigues, Conca de Barberà, Urgell, Anoia, La Segarra, and Terra Alta. In the Terra Alta region, opposition to the MAT is almost unanimous. The Comarcal Council leads this rejection of a new large energy installation. Joan Aubanell, the council president, explained that "except for two town councils, the rest have submitted objections" to the project due to its anticipated "landscape, environmental, and economic impact." Aubanell lamented, "Ultimately, this is the complaint we always have in this region, that infrastructure passes through us, carves up our territory, and they do not allow us or give us the opportunity to profit."
For the Comarcal Council, the priority is now to minimise the MAT's impact and secure compensatory measures. Aubanell criticised that Terra Alta, a leading region in renewable energy production, faces energy supply problems and cannot offer competitive energy prices to attract and retain businesses, reversing depopulation and ageing. In Terra Alta, and other affected territories, there is a belief that the Aragon MAT could also serve as an "excuse" to implement even more renewable energy plants.
Questioning the Energy Model
The MAT project has led to renewed questioning of an energy production model where "renewable energies must be transported from one place to another," as Torres of UP criticised. This was also rejected in La Selva. "We do not want a model of large power plants and large distribution networks, which is what the MAT represents, which is the big business of big companies and the great dependence of consumers and countries," said Lluís Ginestà, spokesperson for the No a la MAT de la Selva platform.
Ginestà added, "We will lose energy sovereignty because this line is being built with many arguments and many excuses, but basically it is to place energy in Camp de Tarragona that they do not know what to do with in Aragon, and to feed the supposed needs for increased energy in the territory." Torres clarified, "We are not saying no to everything, but we want it to be done well." Unió de Pagesos demands that the MAT be buried and use public routes, without expropriating or damaging more agricultural land and natural spaces. This would be more costly, they acknowledge, but would not harm the agricultural productive sector or rural territories.
Lessons from La Selva
This approach was successfully adopted by the No a la MAT de la Selva platform for a section planned between Santa Coloma de Farners and Riudarenes. That project, also by Red Eléctrica Española, was linked to the electricity interconnection with France and the high-speed rail network. The group chose to change its protest model. Ginestà explained they realised that actions leading to confrontations with the police, as seen in Alt Empordà or Sant Hilari Sacalm, would not stop the project or gain public support.
Instead, they organised a public consultation and created a context for widespread education on their reasons for opposing the line. This led to modifications in the initial project. The most significant change was the burying of the line in Alt Empordà to protect the Albera massif. Ginestà highlighted the work of town councils in Northern Catalonia, which pressured the French state to support the undergrounding. The consultation also prompted a "paradigm shift" in the Catalan government, which now favours 110 or 220 MW lines with "more compact" and shorter towers than those of the MAT. This also gives the Generalitat more authority, as a MAT is a "monopoly of Red Eléctrica," Ginestà said.
Future Implications and Alternatives
Beyond the landscape and identity impact on regions like Priorat or Terra Alta, Torres warned that the MAT would "mortgage" agricultural activity due to property value loss and environmental limitations. "Farmers will not be able to build ponds, greenhouses, farms, or whatever they believe they need to develop their activity," the Pagesia Gran representative noted. They also cautioned against replacing food sovereignty with energy sovereignty, questioning why agricultural land should be massively dedicated to electricity production instead of food.
"Why do we prioritise transforming the sun into electricity and not into food?" Torres asked. Unió de Pagesos announced plans to promote a motion in the Catalan Parliament for all parties to publicly state their position on the MAT. The union also criticised "contradictions" within the Catalan government, which simultaneously promotes new protected natural areas and considers regions suitable for renewables within or near these territories. The agricultural entity proposes alternatives based on local energy communities and greater citizen participation, advocating for a gradual, decentralised energy transition with less reliance on large energy companies.
