Spanish police arrest man over ‘sabotage’ against wind and solar projects

Spain’s Guardia Civil police force said on Monday (9 December) they detained the man implicated in the sabotage at a location on the Spanish island of Tenerife. 

The arrest was prompted by “at least 25 acts of sabotage” that targeted telecommunications, solar panels and turbines at wind farms. 

“The detainee had prior knowledge of manufacturing improvised explosive devices of an incendiary nature, which he placed in isolated, lonely and difficult-to-access places,” the police stated. 

Footage posted by the police on X (formerly Twitter) appeared to show a man setting fires in a small room filled with electrical equipment. 

Additional video clips showed police handling what appeared to be improvised incendiaries. 

The police said that citizens, businesses and emergency services across several municipalities on the island had been affected by the sabotage, which seemingly targeted wind and solar farms. 

The detainee also took various measures to evade detection by the authorities including disabling video surveillance cameras and using tools to break into perimeter fences, police claimed.