One hundred thousand olive trees are to be uprooted in the south of Spain to make way for solar farms.

The Junta de Andalucía, the regional government, is using a Franco-era law to carry out forced expropriations from centuries-old olive groves in the Province of Jaén, which is known as the “olive oil capital of the world”.

Greenalia, a green energy company, is allegedly poised to turn 900 hectares into large-scale solar panels and wind farms, meaning about 100 farmers could lose their land.

The worst affected areas are in the Jaén municipalities of Lopera, Arjona and Marmolejo, where the equivalent of about 100 football fields of olive trees will be lost, according to the North Campiña platform, an advocacy group.

So far 5,000 olive trees have been uprooted, sources told The Telegraph.

The farmers are protesting against the expropriation, with North Campiña taking legal action against Greenalia for alleged environmental crimes.

Juan Campos, 67, an olive farmer in Jaén, said: “We have no support from the politicians of the Andalucian government, nor from the agricultural unions; they have never contacted us, nor have the environmentalists. Where are the environmentalists?”

The dispute highlights the tension between the urgent need for renewable energy and the necessity of preserving cultural heritage and environmental integrity.

One of the main grievances is that the energy generated will not benefit the region as it will be exported to other European countries.