The Valencian Region, along with Catalonia, is at the bottom of the autonomous regions with the fewest renewable energy plants (PV and wind) installed in Spain in recent years. In fact, in the last five years of the Botanic project, only 100 MW of solar capacity has been installed compared to about 5,000 MW in Castilla-La Mancha or 6,000 MW in Extremadura, according to official data. A total of 419 MW of solar energy has been installed in the community, a figure that represents only 2.1% of the PV capacity in Spain, where there are 19,203 MW of parks. At the moment, there are more than 400 pending files being processed in the General State of Valenciana, with a capacity of about 6,000 MW, awaiting administrative decision. A dangerous situation that makes it impossible to achieve the 2030 green energy goals if action is not accelerated during this Legislature.
The amendments will affect the Lotub and Botànic decrees on the installation of renewable energy plants
Manuel Argüelles, Director General of Energy and Mines of the state of Valenciana, was forceful in his assessment of the situation: “This blockade takes us completely away from the goals set by the European Union and causes serious legal uncertainty.” He announced that work had already been completed to adapt Valencian legislation “to make it faster and more flexible, allowing us to liberalize the processing of files, and so that we are not the only autonomy that prevents it.” In the coming days, Carlos Mazzone will present these changes that will affect laws and decrees to speed up plants with a capacity of less than 50 megawatts; When this number exceeds, the license depends directly on the government.
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Specifically, the Law on Regional, Landscape and Urban Planning, LOTUP, and Decrees 14/2020 and 1/2022 regulating the processing of the installation of green energy plants in the Valencian Community were amended. Among the changes made, the analysis of reports issued by the General Directorate of Landscapes will be improved, a situation that was imposed during the Botànic period and which does not exist in any other autonomy because they are “binding”, and measures will be adopted to speed up even the bureaucratic processing. Currently, some files for just one megawatt have been waiting for licensing for four years.
Wind energy park
The roots of traffic congestion in Valencia go back to the way the Bhutanese, especially Kompromes public officials, understood the management of licensing for the installation of photovoltaic or wind plants in the Valencian region. In August 2020, Decree 14/2020 was approved, requiring, among other conditions, that any project be audited by the General Directorate of Quality and Natural Environment, which was located in the Ministry of the Environment and managed by Mireia Mola, thus providing general landscape guidance, Also in the hands of the compromisers and within the Ministry of Transport and the Territory.
Ximo Puig tried to solve the problem of Compromís’ accusations without much success
The problem was that Paisaje’s reports were binding, which caused most projects to be derailed by the dissenting position of the Més Compromís sector. Now it may not be binding but “common sense will be adopted,” according to sources from the state. In the past, the state Attorney General’s Office has questioned the “binding” nature of these reports. The situation was such that Ximo Puig tried, at the end of 2022 (when there were 395 files requested and only about 40 were processed) to resolve the blockade that has remained with almost the same effects until now. Decree No. 1/2022 was drafted to amend Lotup but the changes, controlled by Compromís, continued to limit installation requirements in municipalities making it impossible to process the majority of files required from the General Government.
Another problem for the Valencian administration is the lack of government personnel to assist in processing. The previous management of Botànic reached an agreement with Tragsa to increase the number of employees, but this agreement expired days after the last regional elections and was not renewed. Now, Energy is working on a new contract to speed up the files.
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The new amendments to speed up processing respond, according to Manuel Arguelles, to the desire to “reduce bureaucracy and make administration more flexible.” The added problem to all this is the municipalities of Valencia, since there is a large variation in the willingness to accept photovoltaic or wind plants. Experts consulted estimate that if procedures are not simplified, only large companies will acquire the facilities. This makes it difficult for small investors to choose to establish renewable energy plants
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