Spain: Multinational withdraws: Protected birds halt massive solar plant in Albacete

A major energy project that had been in the permitting process for several years in the province of Albacete has finally been shelved. Enel Green Power España has withdrawn its plan to build the El Clavel solar photovoltaic plant, a facility with an installed capacity of 110.741 megawatts (MW) that was planned for Montealegre del Castillo, with its electrical infrastructure also affecting the municipal territories of Almansa and Bonete. The project included the installation of 174,270 solar panels on an area of nearly 198 hectares, along with substations and high-voltage lines to transport the generated electricity.

The outcome of this project is detailed in a resolution issued by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, published this Saturday, October 31, 2026, in the Official State Gazette (BOE). The document confirms that the company formally requested to withdraw from the administrative process after receiving an unfavorable environmental impact statement and losing its permits for access to and connection with the electrical grid. The Directorate-General for Energy Policy and Mines accepted the withdrawal through a resolution issued on May 20, which is now being made publicly available.

A massive solar facility planned in Montealegre del Castillo

The FV El Clavel project began its administrative process in April 2022, when Enel Green Power Spain applied for authorization to construct a large-scale solar power plant and the necessary infrastructure to evacuate the generated electricity.

The main facility was planned for Montealegre del Castillo, where the company proposed occupying an area of approximately 197.77 hectares with thousands of solar panels, internal roads, electrical facilities, and auxiliary elements.

The project’s environmental documentation described a plant consisting of 174,270 photovoltaic modules, each with a peak output of 700 watts, resulting in a generation capacity of 121.98 megawatts peak and a grid connection capacity limited to 94 MW. In the administrative authorization procedure, the project was listed with an installed capacity of 110.741 MW.

The initiative envisioned a layout across seven distinct enclosures, separated by a perimeter fence with a total length of 15,408 meters, or more than fifteen kilometers.

The selected land was located in an agricultural use zone, primarily dedicated to dryland cereal cultivation, east of the urban center of Montealegre del Castillo.

The company also evaluated other sites and configurations before selecting the alternative it considered most favorable from an environmental and technical standpoint.

Almansa and Bonete were also affected by the electrical infrastructure.

Although the solar plant was to be located in Montealegre del Castillo, the project had a broader territorial scope because it required transporting electricity to the high-voltage grid.

To this end, Enel Green Power planned to build a transformer substation named El Clavel FV, along with new 132-kilovolt and 400-kilovolt electrical connections and another substation identified as Bonete Promotores.

The latter facility was projected in the municipality of Bonete, near the existing electrical infrastructure in Campanario, while the evacuation lines also affected land in Almansa.

The environmental documentation initially included a 132-kilovolt evacuation line consisting of an underground section and an overhead section. After modifications made during the permitting process, the planned route came to include approximately 8.03 kilometers of underground line and 2.56 kilometers of overhead line with ten supports.

The goal was to connect the photovoltaic installation with the 400-kilovolt infrastructure of the Campanario substation, owned by Red Eléctrica de España.

However, the route of these connections and their potential impact on protected natural areas ultimately became one of the most significant elements of the environmental assessment.

Protected birds, the main obstacle to construction

The project received a decisive ruling on July 15, 2024, when the Directorate General for Environmental Quality and Assessment issued an unfavorable environmental impact statement.

The resolution concluded that the alternatives selected and the measures proposed by Enel Green Power did not allow for the exclusion of significant negative effects on the natural environment, particularly on steppe birds and their habitats.

The area designated for the solar plant held particular importance for protected species such as the great bustard, the little bustard, the little bustard, and the pale eagle-owl. Environmental reports warned that certain lands affected by the project constituted breeding, nesting, or feeding areas for these birds.

The Directorate General for Natural Environment and Biodiversity of Castilla-La Mancha had indicated that the proposed location presented a high level of environmental sensitivity and that the construction of the facility could cause the loss or alteration of habitats used by threatened species.

In addition, the area was of significant importance to various raptors, including the common buzzard, the short-toed eagle, the peregrine falcon, and the Iberian imperial eagle.

The regional authority deemed the occupation of agricultural land particularly concerning, as, despite being designated for crops, it played a crucial role as habitat for steppe bird species.

The project also affected a protected area in eastern Albacete.

The environmental assessment also examined the consequences of the planned power lines, particularly in relation to the Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA) Eastern Steppe Zone of Albacete, which is part of the Natura 2000 network.

Certain evacuation route alternatives crossed this protected area, where restrictions apply to the construction of new power lines and to impacts on habitats of special interest.

The reports also pointed out potential effects on seasonal wetlands, protected vegetation, and lands associated with the Cañada de la Legua.

One of the elements analyzed was the presence of habitats of community interest, including so-called temporary Mediterranean ponds, which are considered priority under European environmental regulations.

Enel Green Power proposed modifications to the routes and various measures to reduce potential impacts. These included actions to improve habitats, bird protection measures, and proposals for environmental compensation on lands near the affected areas.

However, environmental authorities concluded that these modifications did not adequately address the identified issues. In particular, they determined that certain impacts on the breeding areas of threatened species could not be offset through compensatory measures.

The unfavorable environmental declaration issued in July 2024 ultimately established that the project, in its final configuration, was not environmentally viable.

Red Eléctrica notified the expiration of the permits in September 2024.

The environmental ruling also had consequences for the facility’s connection to the electrical grid.

The project had initially obtained the necessary access and connection permits to the transmission network at the Campanario substation, an infrastructure managed by Red Eléctrica de España.

However, the construction process for a power generation plant is subject to the fulfillment of specific administrative milestones within the deadlines established by legislation.

Among these obligations is the requirement to obtain a favorable environmental impact statement within the legally prescribed period.

On September 23, 2024, Red Eléctrica informed the Ministry for Ecological Transition of the expiration of the access and connection permits for the FV El Clavel project.

The notification indicated that compliance with the requirement to obtain a favorable environmental statement within the 31-month deadline set by the applicable regulations had not been demonstrated.

This circumstance added another decisive obstacle to the continuation of the project, as the administrative authorization for a power generation facility requires prior access and grid connection permits.

Enel requested to withdraw from the project in April 2026

After several years of administrative processing and unfavorable environmental rulings, Enel Green Power España formally requested the withdrawal of the procedure.

The request was submitted to the national administration on April 8, 2026. The company based its decision on the negative outcome of the environmental assessment and the impossibility of obtaining the prior administrative authorization under those circumstances.

The Ministry then initiated the necessary procedures to resolve the withdrawal request and communicated the proposed resolution to the company on April 23.

On the same day, Enel Green Power expressed its agreement with the proposal and requested the formal acceptance of the project’s withdrawal.

Finally, on May 20, 2026, the Directorate General for Energy Policy and Mines issued a resolution accepting the withdrawal and ordering the closure of the procedure corresponding to the FV El Clavel solar plant and its associated power evacuation infrastructure.

The decision was published today, October 31, in the Official State Gazette, ending the processing of the authorization application filed by the developer, without prejudice to any administrative appeals that may be legally filed.

Can the project be revived in the future?

The ruling published on Saturday confirms the dismissal of the specific procedure initiated by Enel Green Power España to build the FV El Clavel plant. Consequently, the facility has not obtained prior administrative authorization, and the company has explicitly renounced to continuing with that application.

The document does not announce a new location for the project, nor does it include a construction alternative to replace the facility initially planned in Montealegre del Castillo. It also does not establish that the company intends to initiate another procedure to develop a different plant in the province of Albacete.

The ruling states that it does not exhaust the administrative route and that an appeal for review may be filed before the State Secretariat for Energy within one month from the day following its publication. If no appeal is filed within that period, the decision will become administratively final.

The archive does not, in itself, constitute a general ban on developing any other renewable energy facility in the three affected municipalities, as each new project would have to be processed in accordance with its specific characteristics, location, and environmental requirements.

The outcome of an energy project initiated more than four years ago

The withdrawal of FV El Clavel administratively closes an initiative that began its processing in April 2022 and envisioned a large-scale solar plant in the eastern part of the province of Albacete.

During that period, the developer studied various alternatives, modified part of the evacuation infrastructure, and proposed environmental measures to attempt to make the installation compatible with the protection of the natural environment.

However, the importance of the land for various threatened bird species and the impacts identified in the environmental assessment prevented a favorable ruling, which subsequently led to the expiration of the access and connection permits.

With the resolution published on October 31, 2026, the Ministry finally accepts that Enel Green Power abandon the project and archives the application for administrative authorization.

In this manner, the FV El Clavel plant, which was planned to feature 174,270 solar panels and an installed capacity exceeding 110 MW, will not be built as per the submitted project, following a procedure in which the protection of habitats and steppe birds proved decisive in its outcome.