Spain approves around 25 GW of photovoltaic projects

The Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition (MITECO) has approved the construction of nearly 25 GW of photovoltaic capacity in Spain.

The total installed photovoltaic capacity is 24,870 MW, distributed over 239 projects. MITECO has issued Administrative Construction Permits (AAC in Spanish) for a total of 283 renewable energy projects, of which 90% of the contracted capacity are solar projects.

MITECO is responsible for the assessment of projects with a capacity of more than 50 MW or located in more than one autonomous region.

A total of 428 renewable energy projects started the AAC process, meaning that 66% of projects were approved by MITECO.

In accordance with Royal Decree 23/2020, all projects approved by the AAC were granted grid connection rights between 31 December 2017 and 25 June 2020, with an approval deadline of 25 July 2024.

All AAC-approved projects now have three years to come online, helping Spain accelerate its goal of reaching 76 GW of installed solar PV capacity by 2030. While not all projects will be built, it will help boost Spain’s installed terrestrial solar PV capacity, which totaled 5.6 GW last year.

By the end of 2023, Spain will have over 25.5 GW of installed photovoltaic capacity. If the targets set out in the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) are to be met, an additional 50 GW will need to be installed in the coming years.

MITECO estimates that all renewable energy projects approved this month will require investments exceeding 17 billion euros ($18.4 billion), and that solar energy and photovoltaics alone will create more than 260,000 jobs.

Earlier this week, MITECO also published guidelines for its Renewable Energy Production and Energy Storage Program, which has been allocated €750 million from Spain’s Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Program. The program aims to encourage the production of equipment and components for technologies such as solar modules, cells and electrolyzers.

Bottlenecks in General Engineering Contracting

This is not the first time that MITECO has approved photovoltaic projects in bulk. Last year, 132 projects (with a total capacity of almost 25 GW) received favorable environmental decisions. These projects were connected to the grid between December 31, 2017 and June 25, 2020, and the deadline for environmental approval is January 25, 2023.

However, shortly after that announcement, in January 2023, some industry participants expressed concern about the lack of design, procurement and construction workers needed to complete these projects.

Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/5gBHZzh_lwpx_X5y6vvHKA