The Goverment of Galicia Archives the Controversial Altri Factory Project

The regional government of Galicia has moved to shelve plans for a controversial pulp mill proposed by the Portuguese paper giant Altri, citing the project’s failure to secure a crucial electricity connection. This project was a subject of a cross-border investigation supported by the Environmental Investigative Journalism grant programme and published in 2025: "Altri: Greenwashing and Environmental Destruction in Galicia."

This cellulose mill project was a subject of a cross-border investigation supported by the Environmental Investigative Journalism grant programme and published in 2025: "Altri: Greenwashing and Environmental Destruction in Galicia."

The Xunta announced on 20 February that, without inclusion in Spain’s 2025–2030 grid planning, the industrial complex planned for Palas de Rei would be unable to proceed. Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition had previously excluded the plant from the national electricity framework, arguing that building bespoke infrastructure for a single, uncertain project risked creating a costly stranded asset for consumers. Altri has been given three months to lodge further arguments, after which the application will automatically lapse if no viable solution is presented.

The decision follows years of sustained grassroots opposition, with tens of thousands rallying across Galicia against what critics described as an environmentally damaging “macro-cellulose” factory. The findings of the journalists who investigated the issue, confirmed that the plant would have placed extreme pressure on local water resources and ecosystems linked to the river Ulla.