In Spain’s olive heartland, farmers battle to save groves from solar takeover

On a hillside in southern Spain, farmer Francisco Campos scans the horizon dotted with olive trees that have stood for generations. But his worry isn’t drought or disease—it’s bulldozers.

Solar parks are moving into the heart of Spain’s olive oil belt. In towns like Lopera, the future of the region’s iconic groves hangs in the balance as land is earmarked for massive photovoltaic developments. “Cutting down olive trees to install solar panels is a crime,” says Campos, 64, who has spent decades working the land.

Spain is a global powerhouse in olive oil production. But now, the same sun that ripens the olives is drawing energy firms to these fertile plains. Andalusia, with some of the highest sunshine hours in Europe, is at the center of the country’s renewable energy drive. Developers are planning eight major solar installations around Lopera, and while some landowners have agreed to lease their plots, others are holding out—despite facing forced expropriation.

For many residents, it’s not just land that’s being taken. It’s legacy. “Our way of life is going to be destroyed,” Campos says.

Photographs capture the contrast—fields of olives interrupted by grids of steel panels, and stumps where trees once stood. At the La Loperana cooperative, where olive oil is bottled and sold, producers estimate that losing 500 hectares of groves would mean more than 2 million in lost income annually.

The government argues that only a small fraction of land is being forcibly acquired and insists that solar expansion is crucial to meet Spain’s climate goals. Last year, renewables powered over half of the country’s electricity. Industry voices say solar farms bring tax benefits and new funding for public services in rural areas.

But the opposition in Lopera sees little gain. Hundreds of residents have taken to the streets, filed lawsuits, and staged tractor rallies. “These lands come from our ancestors,” said 67-year-old Maria Josefa Palomo at one protest. “What am I going to leave to my children now?”

Younger farmers are joining the fight too. Juan Cantera, 28, vows to resist every step of the way: “Until the end. Nobody is going to take what is ours away from us.”

For a town rooted in olive farming, the battle is as much about identity as it is about land. As solar panels rise across the Andalusian landscape, Lopera’s groves—and the generations that shaped them—stand at a crossroads.

(With inputs from Rosa Sulleiro/AFP)