Spain rejects permits for 80 MWp Aliaga Solar II solar plant in Málaga

MADRID, Sept. 25 — Spain's Directorate General for Energy Policy and Mines on Sept. 25, 2026, rejected VE Sonnedix SPV Gamma, SLU's application for prior authorization, construction authorization and a declaration of public utility for the 80 MWp Aliaga Solar II solar plant and its grid connection.

The plant was planned for the municipality of Almogía in the province of Málaga, according to the resolution. The company filed its application on Nov. 30, 2020. The resolution also orders the case file closed.

The resolution says the Directorate General for Environmental Quality and Assessment ended the plant's environmental impact assessment on Jan. 24, 2023. That office said it lacked sufficient information to issue an environmental impact statement and closed the file.

According to the resolution, a favorable environmental impact statement is an unavoidable requirement for granting prior authorization to the project.

The resolution also says that on June 15, 2023, the ministry received a letter from Red Eléctrica de España, which owns the Los Montes 220 kV substation. In the letter, Red Eléctrica de España declared that the project's grid access and connection permits had expired.

The company argued that the Jan. 24, 2023 termination of the environmental assessment was not in accordance with the law, according to the resolution. The company pointed to an administrative appeal it filed on March 1, 2023.

The Directorate General for Energy Policy and Mines said in the resolution that it took into account additional arguments the company filed on Feb. 15, 2024.

The resolution does not end the administrative process. The company may file an appeal with the Secretary of State for Energy within one month from the day after the resolution is published in the Official State Gazette. If no appeal is filed in that period, the resolution becomes final.