Spain: Valencia Prosecutor's Office Opens Investigation into Document Fraud and Malfeasance in the Processing of Three Photovoltaic Plants

— The Valencia Prosecutor’s Office opens proceedings for document fraud and malfeasance in the processing of three photovoltaic plants

— Photovoltaic projects with irregularities are reported to the Prosecutor’s Office, and the Valencian Government is accused of violating its own law

The Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Valencia is investigating a possible crime of document forgery and a “potential” crime of administrative malfeasance in the processing of three photovoltaic plants in the Los Serranos district. The Prosecutor’s Office agreed on October 21 to open pre-trial investigative proceedings and appoint an investigating prosecutor, delegating the case to the head of the Environment Department, following a complaint by a citizen platform regarding alleged irregularities in the files of large photovoltaic projects in Godelleta.

Neither the Prosecutor’s Office nor the complaint identifies a specific individual responsible at this stage, although the documentation points to the competent General Directorate for Energy. The plants are projects of the company Renovalia, which is already under investigation for a possible splitting of a mega-project in the same district. Specifically, the files of the Godelleta 7, Godelleta 8, and Godelleta 12 plants are implicated. The company is advancing 19 photovoltaic projects of 50 megawatts each in this inland area of Valencia.

The association Defiende Tu Pueblo (Serranía - Camp de Túria), which is part of the platform for the Rational Location of Renewables and is supported by Ecologistas en Acción, brought to the attention of the Prosecutor's Office "discrepancies" in the documentation of these files. The group faced significant difficulties in obtaining access to the data and had to appeal to the Transparency Council and the Ombudsman, in a process that lasted several years.

The organization filed objections to the projects, which began their administrative process in 2020 and received approval from the Environment Department in 2023. However, according to the complaint, the environmental impact statements for two of the projects do not include a response from the developer to the objections. The organization requested access to the files, and after several rulings by the Transparency Council and the Ombudsman, the regional ministry provided them with access to the information a year and a half later, in 2025. In these files, they noted, there were documents identified as "responses to the objections," leading sources close to the case to conclude that either the responses were not provided to them, or they were prepared after the fact.

The complaint also highlights other inconsistencies between environmental impact reports and cultural heritage reports, citing referenced reports that do not align. It further details a series of changes to the projects and to the ownership of the land on which the facilities are to be built, including handwritten annotations. Numerous variations were made that, according to the complaint, are not fully documented.

The files were processed during a period of administrative transition. In early 2023, the so-called “milestone policy” was still in effect, requiring specific administrative steps in maintenance and grid connection to ensure project viability. The environmental impact declarations for these plants were signed on January 24, 2023, one day before the expiration of one of those milestone-related deadlines. At that time, the Valencian regional government was still led by the coalition of PSPV, Compromís, and Unides Podem, which would soon cede executive power to the PP and Vox. During the final phase of the Botànic government, the official responsible for the Ecological Transition, with competencies in energy, was Enric Juan, while the official responsible for Environmental Quality was Joan Piquer.

The authority to evaluate renewable energy projects has shifted between departments, alternating between the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Environment, which is responsible for land use. A few months ago, the People's Party (PP) government consolidated all such processes under the Ministry of Environment. The prosecution is also examining other complaints, including the failure to enforce the guarantees for projects that have not been developed, which amount to 280 million euros. Manuel Argüelles, the director general of the relevant division, who held the position since 2023, left the post last July to return to the private sector and was succeeded by Antonio Miranda Bonet. The departure of three senior officials due to irregularities and conflicts of interest in photovoltaic projects is among the questions the PP has regarding the management of Valencian President Juanfran Pérez Llorca. As elDiario.es previously reported, Argüelles admitted to being a shareholder or having interests in two projects approved by his department; his deputy, José Miguel López Cortés, was dismissed for refusing to sign plans of questionable legality; and a senior official in Urban Planning refused to extend an expired technical report.