Ferrel is the name of a Portuguese parish in the municipality of Peniche and the place where a nuclear power plant was to be built in the 1970s. However, this project faced strong public opposition and was cancelled due to mobilizations throughout the whole country. The local population's protests against the construction of this nuclear plant, which peaked in March 1976, gave birth to a broader movement. Even today, Portuguese civil society continues to say "no to nuclear energy".
The residents of Ferrel started to send telegrams to various institutions and politicians as soon as they became aware of the intentions to build a nuclear plant in the area. They also watched as the construction of the plant began, which increased the tension in the air. Through the telegrams, the people expressed their opposition to the construction and warned that they would use all legal means to stop it. Yet, answers never came and none of the politicians made a statement on this matter. On March 15, 1976, in the demonstration that halted the construction work, protestors argued that nuclear energy poses arisk to human health and the environment. On the same day, the people gathered in the Ferrel church square, and to the sound of its bells, marched to Moinho Velho - the intended location for the plant - to demand that construction be stopped. They managed to paralyze the works, close the ditches that had been opened, and destroy the equipment in use. At the end of the action, they warned that if the works were to begin again, they would return to destroy everything all over again.
The impacts of the people of Ferrel’s actions were felt at the local and national level. They inspired numerous other protests against nuclear power, as the government continued defending its viability. The support committee for the fight against the nuclear threat (Comissão de Apoio à Luta Contra a Ameaça Nuclear, CALCAN) was established in the Peniche region. In February 1977, the movement Viver é Preciso (To Live is Necessary) launched an appeal entitled "We are all residents of Ferrel" to contest the pro-nuclear policies adopted by the government at that time. The following year, approximately 3,000 people came together to attend the Festival pela Vida e Contra o Nuclear (Festival Yes to Life, No to Nuclear Power) in Caldas da Rainha.
Another remarkable example of how Portuguese society has mobilized against the nuclear power issue were the conflicts that emerged in 1987 and, again, in 1998, when demonstrations were held in opposition to the Spanish government's plan to install a nuclear waste storage facility in Aldeadávila de La Ribera, in the Douro basin, near the Portuguese border.
In 2006, after decades with no visible advances on the nuclear issue in Portugal, a lobby emerged with the goal of relaunching the drive for nuclear energy. Its public announcement reactivated the anti-nuclear movement, which celebrated its 30 years of resistance in Ferrel. This tribute served to reaffirm, once again, the people’s opposition to nuclear power plants in Portugal, and to call for the adoption of alternative and renewable energy sources.
In 2015, the Iberian Anti-Nuclear Movement was created, which demands the closure of the nuclear plants on the Iberian Peninsula. It also addresses other issues related to the nuclear industry, such as uranium mining and waste management. (See less) |
Campaign in Portugal "For Life and Against Nuclear" manages to halt nuclear power development. A national campaign claims that: "We are all residents of Ferrel" - and we are all impacted by nuclear energy.
Ferrel is the name of a Portuguese parish in the municipality of Peniche and the place where a nuclear power plant was to be built in the 1970s. However, this project faced strong public opposition and was cancelled due to mobilizations throughout the whole country. The local population's protests against the construction of this nuclear plant, which peaked in March 1976, gave birth to a broader movement. Even today, Portuguese civil society continues to say |
| Name of conflict: | Nuclear power station in Ferrel, Peniche, Portugal |
| Country: | Portugal |
| State or province: | Peniche |
| Location of conflict: | Ferrel |
| Accuracy of location | HIGH (Local level) |
| Type of conflict. 1st level: | Nuclear |
| Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Nuclear power plants |
| Specific commodities: | Uranium |
| Project details | In 1972 the Portuguese electrical company (CPE) foresees 1979 as the year in which the first Portuguese reactor would start its activity. The plan was to build four reactors at different times between 1981 and 1989, with an investment of about 30 million escudos, at 1972 prices (about 350 million euros at 2010 prices). |
| Level of Investment for the conflictive project | 300,000,000 |
| Type of population | Rural |
| Affected Population: | Unknown |
| Start of the conflict: | 15/03/1976 |
| End of the conflict: | 31/12/1976 |
| Company names or state enterprises: | Portuguese Electrical Company (CPE) from Portugal - Proponent of the nuclear plant |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | Amigos da Terra Associação Portuguesa de Ecologistas Comissão de Apoio à Luta Contra a Ameaça Nuclear (CALCAN) Comissão de Moradores de Ferrel Movimento Ecológico Português (MEP) Plataform Against Nuclear Power Plataforma pelo Não ao Nuclear Viver é preciso |
| Intensity | HIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...) |
| Reaction stage | In REACTION to the implementation (during construction or operation) |
| Groups mobilizing: | Local ejos Neighbours/citizens/communities |
| Forms of mobilization: | Development of a network/collective action Involvement of national and international NGOs Public campaigns Street protest/marches Occupation of buildings/public spaces |
| Environmental Impacts | Potential: Air pollution, Soil contamination, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems |
| Health Impacts | Potential: Accidents, Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…), Occupational disease and accidents, Deaths |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Potential: Displacement, Loss of landscape/sense of place |
| Project Status | Stopped |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Strengthening of participation Project cancelled |
| Proposal and development of alternatives: | Sttrugle for an "alternative" that called for the increase of solar energy as a non-polluting source and at "the service for all humankind". |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | Yes |
| Briefly explain: | NEW The nuclear power plant was not built. This conflict led to a broad convergence of different social groups (local and national, rural and urban, popular and intellectual) into a dynamic antinuclear front that is active even today. |
| References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries |
| ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network |
| ||||||||||||||
| Other documents |
|
| Contributor: | Lays Silva, Lúcia Fernandes and Stefania Barca |
| Last update | 18/08/2019 |
| Conflict ID: | 1628 |