The rapid development at Parc Sagunt II and the setup of the gigafactory by Volkswagen have brought a flood of information about its impact, often buried beneath repeated statements about investment or labor. A central concern remains carbon dioxide emissions. The latest environmental declaration sets the plant’s annual CO2 output at about 5,800 tonnes.
To put this into context, that figure is dwarfed by the emissions from Sagunto’s metallurgical sector in Valencia. The most recent greenhouse gas inventory, prepared at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition, shows that this industry, including iron and steel production and ferrous alloys, released roughly 70,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. In other words, the plant would be responsible for a small slice of a much larger industrial footprint noted in regional statistics over recent years [Attribution: greenhouse gas inventory and regional industrial emissions data].
The plant estimates indicate other sectors with emissions comparable to the Volkswagen facility include cement and glass production, the entire local agricultural sector, and the treatment and discharge of wastewater, both domestic and industrial. This is based on work by Geminis Tools for the Generalitat to be installed at Parc Sagunt [Attribution: project scope and contractor details from Generalitat records].
To complete the picture of the battery plant’s carbon footprint, the impact assessment calculates emissions at approximately 5,351 tonnes per year. This projection aligns with the broader transition to electric propulsion for light and heavy vehicles and with the commissioning of the intermodal station, which is expected to shift freight from trucks to rail by as much as 65 percent [Attribution: environmental impact statement and transport shift projections].
removed fruit trees
Beyond emissions, the study notes the removal of fruit trees that occupied roughly 294 hectares on the project site. This results in a reduction in carbon dioxide sequestration of around 1,617 tonnes annually. The planned creation of green spaces, gardens, urban trees, and hedges is projected to offset about 1,168 tonnes of CO2 each year through the planting of 40,704 trees and 90,996 shrubs.
While the administrative process moves forward, Espais Econòmics Empresarials is advancing a robust set of contracts that will transfer land into multinational hands. The most recent contracts, made official recently, include the installation of the plumbing and drinking water network and a new medium voltage electrical setup awarded to Canalizaciones Civiles SA for a little over €611,000. A 20 kV line is planned to support a construction site, with Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios SA holding a contract worth just under €1.2 million [Attribution: official procurement announcements and contract values].
Meanwhile, work on the agronomic transformation of the soil progresses at a steady pace. This phase of the project, projected to reach about €12.5 million in cost, faced a major setback due to rock hardness, which forced Bertolín to lengthen the contract by nearly 50 percent. The soil clearance activities even require occasional use of controlled explosives after careful terrain assessment [Attribution: project budget reports and excavation challenges].
Law Council
The considerable budget increase prompted a contract modification that needed approval from the Consell Jurídic Consultiu. The council authorized changes up to 50 percent of the original budget, and in this case the modification reached 49 percent, as reported by regional press outlets [Attribution: Consell Jurídic Consultiu decision and news coverage].