The project, which will take advantage of the pool built for the power station, has the support of the Basque Government, the Town Hall and the Azti technology centre.

Land belonging to the Lemoiz power station could be used to accommodate a fish farm for the farming of different marine species and fry. In principle, the company La Bacaladera of Irun would be interested in the Basque Government’s plan to put this land to good use, which also includes an alternative energy installation which will most probably be a combined cycle power station.
Foloowing the conversations that the Basque Government has held with the Industry Minister, owner of the land belonging to the Lemoiz power station, it is proposed to find a solution for the large amount of surplus land that will not be made use of, as the combined cycle plant will occupy only about 10 hectares.

According to information obtained by NEWS ABOUT GIPUZKOA from reliable sources, the proposal consists of dedicating a part of the land belonging to Lemoiz to a complementary economic activity such as a fish farm, to take advantage of the buildings of the power station already constructed and the quality of the waters in the cove of Basordas, where the site is located, and to create a large ecology park and green area covering more than 100 hectares.

The installation of the fish farm has the support of the Agriculture Department of the Basque Government, the Azti Marine Research Technology Centre and the Town Hall of Lemoiz which is especially interested in securing that part of the land belonging to the power station nearest the coast for the installation of this aquiculture complex.

The promoters of the initiative have contacted the Irun-based company La Bacaladera, one of the most important in the Spanish fish processing and marketing sector, which is studying the possibility of taking part in this project which promises a great future not only for the farming of fry but as an experimental centre for the development of other species which, due to the rise in temperature of the oceans because of climate change, are moving to areas further and further away from consumption centres or are on the verge of becoming extinct.

Establishing a fish farm would not be difficult in the early stages as it would use the water supply pool which was built for the power station and would take advantage of the sea water refrigeration intakes to which it would be permanently connected. Another of the aspects that makes this one of the most suitable places for developing an aquiculture installation is the quality and purity of the waters of the cove of Basordas, a place which has been protected since the Lemoiz power station was built more than 30 years ago. The development of the fish farm project is still at the analytical stage and a number of studies are being made, including visits to determine with greater precision the difficulties and advantages involved in an installation of this type. The Lemoiz fish farm could be an important model in the field of fish farming and research into the effect of climate change on marine species and to monitor the rise in the temperature of sea water which makes species such as cod move towards the coldest waters of the planet, with a consequent increase in costs and the damage this is doing to our fishing industry.