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Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 4:52 pm
by is
Art wrote:They could see us as out-of-touch, dreamy radicals. So they're protecting Asturias from the "crazies."
Or the opposite: they might think of us as posing a systemic threat and thus their instinct is to close ranks and deny people something as basic as freedom of information. They shield themselves in administrative formulas to save face and perhaps their own self-perception.
Art wrote:This got me to thinking about the bulldozer drivers who would tear up an ancient artifact if it was in the way because to report it would slow down the job and probably cost a lot more.
According to archaeologists I've spoken to, this is what actually happens on the ground. The operators of heavy machinery are told to finish a job on schedule. They can hardly be held accountable for steamrolling over megaliths or ancient roadways because the incentives are elsewhere.
Art wrote:Also, there is a strong incentive for the worker to finish quickly because the payment for many project contracts is typically based on the task to be done, not the number of hours it takes.
In fact, large construction companies like OHL (a big player in Asturias) have tacit agreements with local authorities to guarantee they will not run into ancient artifacts that could jeopardize project finance. The thing to do is to hire friendly archaeologists or geologists who sign off on documents.
Art wrote:But my experience has been that that's a miserable business model because contemporary business is set up to reward quick and unsatisfying labor.
I know what you mean, especially coming from the private sector. But people do pick up on thoroughness and a job well done. No one wants a schlocky job...

Visita a los lugares mas afectados por molinos en Carondio

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:49 pm
by Art
[Art: Este es un mensaje recibido en Facebook de Pico Carondio.]
Pico Carondio wrote:Visita a los lugares mas afectados por los molinos en Carondio

El proximo domingo 22 si el tiempo lo permite, se va organizar una visita a los lugares mas afectados por los molinos en Carondio entrando por Allande, contando de guia con Armando Graña, si alguien quiere o puede ir, sería bueno que quedara con el organizador que es nuestro compañero de la Coordinadora, Emilio Rabanal tfno 649567915. [Art: Tengo su correo si lo necesitas.]

Organizado por Coordinadora Ecoloxista d'Asturias
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trans. Art

[Art: This is a message on FaceBook from Pico Carondio.]
Pico Carondio wrote:Visit the places most affected by the windmills on Carondio

The next Sunday Nov. 22 if the weather permits, we will arrange to visit the places most affected by the windmills on Carondio. We'll meet in Allande and be guided by Armando Graña. If anyone wants to go, you may want to get in touch with the organizer which is a member of the coordinating committee, Emilio Rabanal, telephone: 649567915. [Art: I have his email address if you need it.]

Organized by Ecological Coordinating Committee of Asturias

Visit to Carondio

Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:50 am
by is
Thanks for posting that message, Art. For all of you in Asturias with an environmental or archaeological interest, the fieldtrip up to Mt. Carondio is going to be memorable. I suppose Armando will take you along the route of the 34 megalthic tombs, which begin in La Marta (Co. Ayande/Allande) and end at the foot of Mt. Carondio (Co. Eilao/Illano).

For pictures of the Neolithic tombs, they are already up on the Mt. Carondio website. The photographer is Emilio Rabanal. It helps to understand the archaeological value of the area when you see the menhirs (upright stones) and the barrows that have not been excavated and which supposedly contain dolmens inside. On this page you can also see satellite images of the archaeological sites for those of you who may want to go up to Mt. Carondio alone:

http://carondio.yolasite.com/el-tesoro-neolitico.php

To give you an idea of what can lie under the heather bushes and earth mounds, here is an uncovered dolmen I saw recently in Baile an Sceilg/Ballinskelligs (County Kerry, Ireland):

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Please forward the e-petition to friends as we need at least 2,500 signatures for the campaign to be effective. Here, again, is the link to the e-petition:

http://petitions.tigweb.org/SOScarondio

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Muitas gracias por reenviar el mensaxe, Art. Pa los que teais n'Asturias ya vos interesen cuestiones de medio ambiente ya arqueoloxia, cuido que la escapada a Carondio vei ser guapa dafeitu. Supono que Armando vos l.levaria pula Carreiriega pa visitar los 34 tumulos megaliticos dende La Marta no conceyo d'Ayande/Allande deica la pia del mesmo Carondio no conceyo d'Eilao/Illano.

Si queredes ver semeyas (fotos) de los tumulos, xa tan na paxina de Carondio. L'autor ia Emilio Rabanal ya podense ver tanto menhires cumo pedras afitadas xunto lo que se supon son dolmenes inda ensin escavar. N'esta paxina tamen tan las vistas de satelite pa los que quieran xubir a Carondio solinos:

http://carondio.yolasite.com/el-tesoro-neolitico.php

Pa fadevos una idea de lo que hai embaxo las uces ya'l monton de tierra nos tumulos de Carondio, aiqui vei una imaxen d'un dolmen que viera hai pouco en Baile an Sceilg/Ballinskelligs (Condau de Kerry, Irlanda):

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Reenviai la peticion online a amigos/-as. Fainnos falta 2.500 firmas pa que la campana tenga mas eco pa conas autoridades ya nos medios de comunicacion. Aiqui vei outra vez la direicion:

http://petitions.tigweb.org/SOScarondio

Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 2:23 pm
by mofusu
Mirái qué cara!!!! El "Principáu" fai publicidá turística col paisaxe que va estrozar....

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Trans. Is

The gall of it...look at how the regional government of Asturias uses pictures of the landscape it plans to destroy in tourist brochures....




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Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 12:44 pm
by is
Art, I borrowed your phrase about tiptoeing around the tulips here (toward the end). This is a piece on Spain's economic recession, how it has exposed structural deficits, what the government is doing to fix it and how Mt. Carondio in Asturias is the result of a great deal of improvising and short-term thinking.

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Art, garrara lo que dixeras de dir de puntiel.las pa conos tulipanes pa esti testo (al final). Vei sobre la recesion economica n'Espana, cumo xurdienon deficits estructurales cona crisis, que ia lo que ta fadiendo l'estau pa igualo ya cumo el parque eolico na Serra de Carondio ia un exemplu de la improvisacion ya estratexa a curtiu plazu n'Asturias.


The windfall of Mt. Carondio (Asturias, Spain)

Spain suffered a brutal contraction of -3.8% of GDP in 2009. Unlike other European Union countries, its lack of competitiveness will not bring it out of recession any time soon. The economy is set to shrink by another -0.7% in 2010 and unemployment could rise above 19%.

The beautiful region of Asturias in the northwest has been paying the price of a 30-year-old industrial restructuring. In 2009, as a result of the global recession, it faces a revenue shortfall of €356 million. For its 2010 budget, the regional administration announced fiscal losses of €136 million and a drop of €220 million in capital transfers from Brussels and Madrid.

Spain’s property bubble, which burst in 2007-08, means construction is no longer a major source of municipal income. Town halls in Asturias have seen their income drop an average 30% this year. To avoid bankruptcies at the local government level, policymakers in Oviedo, the regional capital, have allowed municipal debt to rise to 125% of income.

This means municipalities will be able to buy debt beyond the previous threshold of 110%. It is comparable to the debt-to-income ratio of Greece, a country near collapse after its liabilities rose to 130% of GDP in December. Like Asturias, the Greek government has piled debt by hiring public sector workers in a bid to stave off social unrest. Today, one out of four Greek workers is employed by the state.

Buying people with debt is not only disastrous financially, but deeply unfair. The labor system in Spain is such that inefficient workers on permanent contracts are nearly impossible to fire. Meanwhile, talented young people scrape by on 6-month contracts at minimum wages of €624 per month. They were the first to lose their jobs during the global crisis. The inefficient public sector workers remain.

The green fix

The dismal situation has led to spectacular fixes. To much fanfare, the Socialist-led government in Madrid unveiled a new ‘sustainable economy law’ in November. The idea is to liberalize electricity markets and encourage renewable energy, as well as step up training in IT. It is all good considering the country’s structural deficits. But pressure from trade unions has foiled any labor market reforms.

In Asturias, the new economic thrust along green lines is encouraging a second round of wind energy tenders. The regional administration has announced 40 new wind farms, equivalent to 1,000 new turbines—all of them in rural West Asturias, an area with the lowest income per capita and nil political leverage. Its major asset is its pristine wilderness and archaeology, which have spawned eco-tourism.

Income per capita in counties like Allande is less than €11,000, barely 39% of Spain’s average. Allande is home to small-scale agriculture, which accounts for 51% of the local economy. Services, including tourism, account for another 40%. But the low population density of 6.3 per km2 and high wind density of 600-800 watts per m2 make for a lethal combination. It draws electricity producers looking for tax incentives and energy subsidies. For them, the mountains are pure real estate.

Allande already produces 38.9MW of wind energy with its 59 wind turbines high up in the Serra de los Lagos (1,416m). Electricity generation from that farm alone accounts for 12.8% of the region’s total wind energy capacity of 304MW. With a population of 2,106, it means the citizens of County Allande already produce more than their fair share of green power.

A Special Plan

Now, the municipality of Allande, headed by Socialist Jose Antonio Mesa, wants to build another wind farm. The novelty is that Mesa has approved a project to erect 25 wind turbines of 2MW on archaeological land. This will generate a windfall of €260,000, equivalent to €129 per person in the county over a 25-year-period, the average lifetime of these installations. It is literally money from heaven.

Mt. Carondio is a highland area of heather bushes and dolmens. Along a 10km prehistoric corridor known as the Carreiriega de los Gal.legos (‘The roadway of the Galicians’), there are 35 megaliths, the most famous of which is the dolmen known as A llastra da Filadoira (‘The spinner’s capstone’). The barrows are the legacy of pastoral societies who used them to bury their dead and mark tribal boundaries.

The highlands were declared a ‘Protected Landscape’ in the 1990s, although the status was never made official. What makes Mt. Carondio unique is the sheer number of prehistoric finds. Inside the barrow of Castellin, archaeologists found a 2 meter stone with intricate engravings. In 2007, a Roman-period military camp was unearthed that is thought to have served the gold mining operations in the 1st century AD.

The trouble with Mt. Carondio began 10 years ago when wind energy first took off in Asturias. In 1999, the Asturian government implemented Law 13/1998, providing the sector with a legal framework. Genesa, the renewable arm of what is now HC Energia, initially proposed a farm consisting of 59 wind turbines of 850kw. A dirt road ran along the proposed route, a key element in reducing costs.

The first environmental impact assessment for Mt. Carondio was made public in April 1999. At the time, only the cash-strapped municipality of neighboring County Eilao gave its go-ahead. The municipality of Allande, then in the hands of the center-right Partido Popular (PP), rejected the plan. They argued that the need for access roads and grid connections was tantamount to setting up a power plant at Stonehenge.

When the regional government geared up to lift its moratorium on wind farms in July 2008, Mt. Carondio was declared off limits. But pressure exerted on archaeologists at the Cultural Council in Oviedo reversed their decision. In March 2009, the same archaeologists who had vetoed the project now gave it a green light. It is then that a new wind farm project consisting of 21 wind turbines of 2MW emerged like a phoenix, now dubbed a ‘Special Plan’.

Appeals by a lawyer hired by the Coordinadora Ecoloxista d’Asturies (CEA), an environmental group, to view the ‘Special Plan’ at the Cultural Council in Oviedo were repeatedly denied in October. The Director of Historic Preservation, Jose Luis Vega, and Luisa Maria Lobo, of the Legal Department, denied CEA access to what should have been public information. Although local politicians pay lip service to transparency, it is rare in practice.

However, such was the media noise around Mt. Carondio that the mayor of Allande has gone ahead with road construction without approval by the planning commission (CUOTA). Mesa is now presumably liable for damages to local archaeology after excavators attempted to grade the terrain. Pictures shot in December show machines steamrolling over the ancient roadway. Meanwhile, archaeologists have been reduced to staking out each of the 35 Neolithic sites so bulldozers do not trample over them.

Instead of tiptoeing around the tulips, the regional government of Asturias is selling its most prized assets to so-called green energy companies. In these days of global recession and climate change, renewable energy has few opponents. Ironically, it is an environmentalist group that spearheaded the campaign to save Mt. Carondio. A former mayor, meanwhile, has labeled the windfall project as ‘food today and hunger tomorrow’.


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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 3:24 am
by mofusu
Artículu de LNE sobre les subvenciones a los paques eólicos.

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Trans. Is

Here is an article in the LNE (Nueva Espana) on government subsidies for wind farms.

http://www.lne.es/economia/2009/12/16/m ... 48531.html

Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:29 am
by is
Thanks for the link, Mofusu. Unfortunately, it looks like the wind farm for Carondio DID meet the funding requirements by Spain's Ministry of Industry. I don't know how. We may never know how because Asturias is non-transparent unless it is forced to.

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Gracias pol enllaz, Mofusu. Pero paez que el parque eolico de Carondio SI que foi quien a entregar el papeleo (permisos) que-ys pedia el Ministerio d'Industria. Nun sei cumo ya seique nun vamos sabelo nunca porque n'Asturias la politica ia opaca a nun ser que-ys demanden xudicialmente.

"La región tiene unos 17 parques (unos 600 millones de inversión) con una tramitación avanzada y que estaban pendientes de entrar en el cupo de los que se instalarán en toda España hasta 2012, pero sólo siete aparecen en la lista que ayer difundió Industria. El grupo de los aprobados incluye un parque que ya funciona (Sierra de Tineo), dos ampliaciones de complejos en activo (Curiscao y Baos-Pumar) y cuatro proyectos nuevos: El Candal (Castropol), El Segredal (Villayón-Valdés), Carondio (Allande) y Peña del Cuervo (Las Regueras)."

"There are 17 wind farm projects (600m euros in investment capital) with paperwork already at an advanced stage. Of those, many of those were included in the allotment of new wind farms projected in Spain for 2012. However, only 7 appear on the list published by Spain's Ministry of Industry yesterday. Among those approved is the one already operative in the Sierra de Tineu, two expansions of the ones operating in Curiscao and Baos-Pumar and four new wind farm projects: El Candal (Castripol), El Segredal (Villayon-Valdes), Carondio (Ayande) and Pena del Cuervo (Les Regueres).

Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 6:19 am
by is
On Tuesday, Dec. 22 (2009), there's a panel discussion on the wind farm craze in Asturias, mostly about Mt. Carondio. It takes place at the Club de Prensa in Oviedo/Uvieo at 8 p.m.

Here is the flyer announcing the event:

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El martes, 22 de Payares (2009), vei fadese una presentacion de la fiebre eolica n'Asturias, falando sobremanera de Carondio, no Club de Prensa d'Uvieo a las 8 la tarde.

Aiqui ta'l cartelo con mas informacion:

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Reminder

Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:50 am
by is
Ahead of the panel discussion next week at the Club de Prensa in Oviedo/Uvieo, we would like to show as many signatures on the e-petition as possible.

If you have not signed up yet, it takes all of 10 seconds to do so and will lend legitimacy to the cause of safeguarding a unique archaeological and wilderness landscape like Mt. Carondio.

As things are, the mayor of County Ayande/Allande (Jose Antonio Mesa Pieguia) is already sending bulldozers and excavators to grade the terrain, illegally. If we were running out of time before, the problem now is how to stop the machines.

Please forward the petition to friends:

http://petitions.tigweb.org/SOScarondio
http://carondio.yolasite.com/

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Pa poder amousar que hai abonda xente interesao en salvar Carondio na conferencia de la selmana que vien no Club de Prensa d'Uvieo, fain falta mas firmas na e-peticion.

Si inda non firmarais, son 10 segundos que poden servir a da-y mas llexitimida na defensa d'esti paisaxe arqueoloxico ya natural.

Tal cumo tan las cousas, l'alcalde d'Ayande/Allande (Jose Antionio Mesa Pieguia) xa mandou palas escavadoras ya maquinaria pesao a Moyapan ya la base del Picu Carondio, posiblemente de xeito illegal. Si anantias tabamos apuraos de tiempo, agora el problema ia cumo parar la obra.

Aiqui tenedes la e-peticion, reenviaila a amigos:

http://petitions.tigweb.org/SOScarondio
http://carondio.yolasite.com/

Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 2:05 pm
by is
Courtesy of a friend in the Netherlands, who is deploying all her artistic mettle for the cause of Mt. Carondio...

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Feito por una amiga nos Paises Baxos que ta fadiendo amuesa de sou xeitu artistico pa con Carondio...


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Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 3:28 am
by Art
That's a great article, Is. My only quibble is with the line:
"With a population of 2,106, it means the citizens of County Allande already produce more than their fair share of green power."

Any time I hear or read the word "fair" my ears prick up. I can imagine someone writing, "With a population of x,xxx, it means the citizens of County Avilés already produce more than their fair share of fish or aluminum or ??." To a large degree, what an area produces will depend on its physical location. Allande doesn't pull its weight in fish production, but that's understandable. Avilés has the sea nearby and a good port, but doesn't have the wind resources Allande has.

I'm sorry to hear about the bulldozers moving in already. It's amazing what politicians can generally get away with.

Finally, I really like the poster!

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Es un artículo estupendo, Is. Mi única objeción (casi una nimiedad) es con la línea:
"Con una población de 2.106, significa que los ciudadanos del Consejo de Allande ya producen más de su cuota justa de la energía verde."

Cada vez que oigo o leer la palabra "justo" aguzar los oídos. Me puedo imaginar a alguien escribiendo, "Con una población de x.xxx, significa que los ciudadanos del Consejo de Avilés ya producen más de su cuota justa de los pecado o aluminio o ??." En gran medida, lo que produce un zona dependerá de su ubicación física. Allande no "tira de su peso" (?? hace su parte??) en la producción de pescado, pero eso es comprensible. Avilés tiene su cercanía al mar y un buen puerto, pero no tiene los recursos eólicos que Allande tiene.

Siento mucho oír de las excavadoras ya en acción. Es increíble que los políticos en general pueden salirse con estos delitos.

¡Por último, me gusta mucho el cartel!

Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 5:48 am
by mofusu
Felicitación de navidá d'Areces........CON EÓLICOS!!!!!!!!!!!


http://www.asturias.es/felicitacion2010 ... acionb.htm :evil: :evil:

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:35 am
by is
mofusu wrote:Felicitación de navidá d'Areces........CON EÓLICOS!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.asturias.es/felicitacion2010 ... acionb.htm :evil: :evil:
Thanks for the tip-off on Areces' Christmas card, Mofusu. The Asturian president is full of 'sustainability' in his rhetoric these days. You can see it in the Principality's propaganda along with the usual buzzwords of social justice, solidarity and equality. I've put it in quotation marks because what Areces understands as 'sustainable' is the exact opposite of what an environmentalist in Duisburg or Seattle would think.

In West Asturias, Areces and his FSA (the Socialist Party) is introducing a 'desarrollista' (industrial development) mindset that originated in Central Asturian mining districts in the 19th century. Mofusu himself has pointed out before that Socialists are often predictable in that they think of Asturias as an extension of Mieres, La Felguera, etc.

The FSA is foisting an industrialist model on rural mountain counties like Ayande, Eilao, Bual, Ozcos, Grandas, Pezos and others--not out of choice, but as a way for these areas to finance themselves. Selling wilderness areas to electricity producers like EDP (Electricidade de Portugal), means the FSA rids itself of the onerous social financing needs of counties that contribute little to GDP.

West Asturias deserves a totally different model, one more adapted to its culture and environment. The economy of Ayande or Bual has very little to do with that of Mieres or La Felguera. Yet, policymakers in the regional capital have never cared. As a former mayor of Ayande once said, 'the more Galician we are, the less we count as constituents for the political hierarchy'.

The case of Mt. Carondio is a clear example. The FSA has pushed this project through and the Consejeria de Cultura has even given permission to 'partially destroy' the Carreiriega de los Gal.legos, a Neolithic road which is thousands of years older than Rome's Appian Way or the medieval Camino de Santiago. Doing all that in the name of sustainability, the new FSA buzzword, should raise eyebrows.

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 1:35 am
by Art
Is wrote:.... In West Asturias, Areces and his FSA (the Socialist Party) is introducing a 'desarrollista' (industrial development) mindset that originated in Central Asturian mining districts in the 19th century. Mofusu himself has pointed out before that Socialists are often predictable in that they think of Asturias as an extension of Mieres, La Felguera, Mieres, etc.

The FSA is foisting an industrialist model on rural mountain counties... ....
Ah, that's very interesting, Is. I think you may be on to something big. If the FSA has an industrial vision, that would explain a lot. In particular, it's a vision rooted in the distant past, not the current reality of Asturias.

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Ah, eso es muy interesante, Is. Creo que en esto tal vez tengas la llave. Si la FSA tiene una visión industrial, explicaría muchas cosas. En particular, es una visión arraigada en el pasado distante, no la realidad actual de Asturias.

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 6:57 am
by is
La Consejería de Cultura de Asturias tenía sus razones para no dar acceso a la Coordinadora Ecoloxista al proyecto de parque eólico en Carondio: el proyecto autorizaba la destrucción de parte de La Carreiriega de los Gal.legos.

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The Cultural Council of Asturias had its reasons to deny access to the wind farm project file. In essence, it gave authorization to the electricity company (HC Energia, a subsidiary of EDP) to destroy part of the Neolithic roadway known as the Carreiriega de los Gal.legos.


http://www.lesnoticies.com/lesnoticies/ ... ondio/5338

The Cultural Council of Asturias [Consejeria de Cultura] authorizes the partial destruction of the prehistoric roadway of Mt. Carondio


The construction work taking place in Mt. Carondio to build a wind farm has been authorized by the Cultural Council of Asturias, according to the Coordinadora Ecoloxista d'Asturies (CEA), an environmental group.

CEA filed a complaint on December 7 (2009) with the Heritage Department of Asturias [Seccion de Patrimonio], as well as public prosecutors and the Civil Guard, arguing that bulldozers had razed part of the Neolithic roadway known locally as La Carreiriega de los Gal.legos.

Earth-moving equipment on Mt. Carondio is breaking ground in order to facilitate the installation of wind turbines. In its complaint, CEA asked for an immediate halt to the construction work which is affecting this heritage site.

Last Tuesday, 22 days after the complaint was filed, an archaeologist from the Cultural Council, together with a technician from SEPRONA [police and civil guard unit for rural areas] went to Mt. Carondio to assess the damage. Apparently, the destruction underway was authorized by the Cultural Council, which had given permission to the electricity company to use the ancient roadway as an access road.

Therefore, the Cultural Council has decided to disregard the complaint. Despite repeated attempts to view the Cultural Council's project for a wind farm in Mt. Carondio, access to the file was denied.

At the foot of Mt. Carondio, an area rich in archaeology including 34 Neolithic burial tombs as well as a newly discovered Roman military camp, HC Energia plans to install 25 wind turbines measuring 60 meters.