BarcelonaAfter years behind the State in the implementation of renewables, Catalonia has made a breakthrough in the third quarter of this year in the processing of clean electricity projects. This is confirmed by the Observatory of Renewables, which the Foro Sella prepares quarterly. “Catalonia also takes off with the permit for the construction of 257.6 MW,” says the latest report verbatim.
Despite this setback, the Principality is still far from the leading communities in Spain in the implementation of renewables. Thus, in the third quarter of the State as a whole, the construction of 263 installations totaling 12,299 MW was authorized. Only three communities account for more than half of this authorized power: Castilla y León with 2,500 MW, Castilla-La Mancha with 2,372 MW and Aragon with almost 2,337 MW. After these communities are Andalusia (1,554 MW), Madrid (1,079 MW) and the Valencian Country (843 MW).
Although the Catalan figures remain modest compared to other communities, they represent a leap forward with respect to the more recent past: in all of 2023, installed renewable energy capacity only increased by 34 MW. The 257 MW approved in the third quarter of this year also contrasts with what had been approved since the renewables decree of November 2019, 1,799 MW in total. Thus, in just three months, 14% of what had been done in five years was authorized.
Unlike territories where land is easily accessible and large wind or photovoltaic parks can be built, in the Principality the projects are still small. A fact proves it. Large projects of more than 50 MW must be approved by the Spanish government, while smaller projects are approved by the Generalitat. The 257 MW that have received the green light in the last quarter have been approved by the Generalitat, and there was no authorization from the ministry.
On the other hand, in the five communities that have authorized the most installations – Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Aragon, Andalusia and Madrid – the ministry has done so by a large majority. In fact, of the 12,299 MW authorized in the State as a whole, 9,627 correspond to the ministry and only 2,672 to the communities. Another aspect that stands out is that photovoltaics is gaining ground as a renewable source in new projects ahead of wind power. In the State as a whole, of the 12,299 MW authorized, more than 10,000 correspond to photovoltaic installations.
The pattern is also repeated in Catalonia. Of the 257 MW authorized, more than 208 correspond to photovoltaic energy, while wind power is slightly below 49 MW. In other words, four out of every five MW that have received the green light to be built are photovoltaic solar.
Rejected projects
In fact, not all the projects presented come to fruition. In Spain, 26 renewable projects totaling 1,404 MW were rejected in the third quarter. In Catalonia, only one project has been rejected, a wind installation in the province of Tarragona of 48.8 MW. But Catalonia does not top the ranking of communities where more projects have collapsed. The podium is topped by Aragon, with 742 MW, and Castilla-La Mancha with 366.6 MW. Of the total number of rejected projects in the State, more than 838 MW were photovoltaic, while just over 565 MW were wind.
The projects that have seen the green light in Catalonia also have the corresponding connection permits, something key to being able to start pouring energy into the grid when they are finished. But the networks, if renewables go further, can become the weak point of its development. “Although all the projects have connection permits, one of the keys now is for the transport and distribution networks to grow in parallel, to avoid bottlenecks”, indicates Caro, who emphasizes that there is a consensus in the sector that requires a higher investment in the networks to bring the energy to where the demand is. And he adds: “This is particularly important so that communities like Catalonia can catch up with the leading communities in renewables and cover demand, both domestic and industrial.”
More processing
This boost detected in renewables in Catalonia in the last quarter is largely the result of the application of the renewables decree of 2021. Now, in addition, the new government of Salvador Illa wants to give it another boost, as he explained the Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, in front of the Parliament. The Minister, in addition to expressing her commitment to biogas and marine wind power, said that she wants to include in the law accompanying the budgets of the Generalitat for 2025 a package of measures to speed up the installation process renewable energy facilities.
Among these measures would be to allow urban planning procedures to proceed “in parallel” with the strictly energetic ones. The spokeswoman assured that the executive chaired by Salvador Illa plans to include this “battery of improvements” taking advantage of the budget procedure, because this is the way to be able to introduce changes in the current decree on renewables, approved by the previous Government on 2021
In fact, there are currently several projects in progress in Catalonia, apart from the 257 MW with authorized construction and the 48.8 rejected for wind power. Of the total number of projects, there are 126 MW processed before the ministry with the declaration of favorable environmental impact. Of the projects processed by the Generalitat, there are 156 MW in public information, 229 MW with the declaration of favorable environmental impact and 30 MW with the declaration of unfavorable environmental impact.
