Locals around Coin and the rest of the Guadalhorce Valley stare in disbelief at what was once Spain’s breadbasket now scraped bare for enormous solar plants. Nearly 2,000 hectares of the richest agricultural soil in La Jara have been turned solid like concrete, with tens of thousands of photovoltaic panels and hundreds of miles of cable set to cover a vast stretch of the Guadalhorce Valley right at the foot of the Sierra de la Nieves national park.

Century-old trees ripped out and wildlife vanished

Hundred-year-old trees have been yanked out by the roots. Every scrap of flora and fauna has gone. Scores of heavy machines have been tearing through the site since March this year. One smallholder flat refused the 25-year leases being waved at neighbours by the companies involved. His plot now sits completely surrounded by bare ground looking like a desert, and rows of aluminum mounts waiting for panels. While we stood talking, a kestrel circled overhead, natural to this land, clearly confused because nothing remained for it to land on.

Environmental report kept secret despite legal rules

An environmental study was carried out, yet campaign groups say Coin council has refused to let the public see the report. The mayor insists he cannot halt the works because higher authorities hold the power. Without that document, which the law says should be open, no one can properly judge the full damage. And the works should not have legally been allowed to begin.

Flood risk and water worries mount downstream

Solar parks are due to gulp huge amounts of water. Worse still, the stripped land can no longer soak up autumn and winter rains. Sudden run-off now poses a real threat. Coin council has been racing to clear and wall the Rio Grande that cuts through its territory. That river feeds the Guadalhorce and then flows past Cartama and Campanillas, both already notorious for flooding. Extra water racing downstream this coming season looks almost certain. Has anyone consulted those populations of the potential effect of this mega project?

Austrian state firm behind the scheme

The project is driven by Verbund, Austria’s biggest electricity company and majority-owned by the Austrian state. Campaigners from Asociación Valle Natural Rio Grande ask a blunt question: would Austria allow a scheme like this on its own soil? Planning rules there are far tighter for ground-mounted solar on this scale. Renewable energy is needed, they stress, but not by sacrificing productive farmland, landscapes and local livelihoods.

This huge site sits well away from main roads and largely public gaze, except those living on its doorstep in Alozaina and Casabermeja. Residents across the Malaga region are demanding a louder voice before more of the valley disappears under solar panels.