Residents of Trujillo, a town in the Spanish region of Extremadura, are voicing their opposition to Diamond Foundry’s proposal to install 40-meter towers to power a new $850 million lab-grown diamond facility.
Despite their support for the facility itself, which pledges to create 300 jobs and annually produce 10 million carats of single-crystal diamond chips and high-quality gem diamonds, residents vehemently object to the erection of 22 towers in Trujillo. These towers are crucial for transporting electricity from the El Berrocal solar photovoltaic plant situated 5 kilometers away.
Lin Mateos, spokesperson for the Save El Berrocal Platform, declared, «We consider this an outrage which is an attack on the city, the landscape and El Berrocal, a protected area».
Diamond Foundry, a Silicon Valley startup valued at $1.8 billion and backed by prominent figures like Leonardo DiCaprio, is spearheading one of the world’s pioneering industrial projects entirely powered by solar electricity.
The company asserts that it is actively addressing concerns regarding a specific tower that has drawn significant criticism.
The project aims to position Spain as a leader in the sustainable diamond industry. The factory will rely on renewable energy, incorporating a solar photovoltaic self-consumption system constructed by the energy company Powen.
Fernández Vara, the president of the Junta de Extremadura, underscored the opportunities presented by the project, which focuses on security, as well as the streamlining of regulations. Raül Blanco, the Secretary General of Industry and SMEs, characterized the project as a global trailblazer, contributing to the future industrial capacity of the region.
