Aragón declares the public utility of the Castor-Valcaldera line in Zaragoza

The Department of Economy, Competitiveness, and Employment of the Government of Aragon has specifically declared the public utility of the installation “High voltage line from Castor substation to Valcaldera substation and Castor substation,” promoted by the company Habidite Energy, SL. The resolution, signed by Councilor Eva Valle Maestro on September 22, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 198, dated October 13, 2026, under reference BOA20261013015, and enables the compulsory expropriation of the assets and rights necessary in nine municipalities of Zaragoza.

The declaration is processed under file numbers DUP-Z-2021-0055 and AT-2020-269 and affects the municipal boundaries of Agón, Ainzón, Alberite de San Juan, Ambel, Borja, Bulbuente, Bureta, Magallón, and Vera de Moncayo. The application was submitted by Habidite Energy, SL on July 19, 2022, accompanied by the individualized list of assets and rights considered necessary for expropriation.

The file accumulates several administrative precedents. The prior administrative and construction authorization was granted via Resolution of March 8, 2023, by the Director of the Provincial Industry Service of Zaragoza (Official Gazette of Aragon number 59, dated March 27, 2023), and its modification via Resolution of April 25, 2025, by the Director General of Energy and Mines (Official Gazette of Aragon number 214, dated November 5, 2025). The favorable environmental impact statement corresponds to the Aragonese Institute of Environmental Management, in a resolution dated December 14, 2022. The public information was announced in the press and in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 182, both on September 19, 2025, and the Provincial Service of Zaragoza reported favorably on April 7, 2026.

A 220 kilovolt line and its list of properties

The installation is a 220 kilovolt high-voltage overhead line that links the Castor substation with the Valcaldera substation, and includes the Castor substation itself. The annex of the order contains the individualized list of assets and rights necessary for expropriation, with the following information per property:

• Project property number, cadastral polygon and plot, and municipality.
• Owner identified by DNI or CIF.
• Land use: cropland or dryland and irrigated farming, pastures, almond trees, olive trees, vineyards, arable land, and irrigated peatland scrub.
• Supports and their numbering (T-4, T-7, T-10, T-20, T-28, T-34, T-40, T-44, T-48, T-54, T-62 to T-67, T-70, T-71, T-82, among others).
• Overhead line flight surfaces, right-of-way for surveillance and conservation, temporary and permanent occupation, and security zone.

The order excludes from the annex the plots for which the developer has proven agreements with the owners, as well as public domain assets, the treatment of which is referred to Article 56.2 of Law 24/2013, of December 26, on the Electricity Sector.

Eight allegations: two accepted and the rest rejected

During the public information period, eight allegations were submitted, identified as A1 to A8 and formulated by two companies with CIF B-50707967 and B-99289548 and by six natural persons. Only the Bulbuente City Council submitted a report among the consulted administrations.

• Allegation A6: accepted. The support of tower T-20 is moved two meters to the west to minimize impacts.
• Allegation A7: accepted. The support of tower T-7 is moved three meters to the east and the access road is adapted to the existing easement; additionally, the actual crop of the plots is corrected, which is irrigated peatland holm oak.
• Allegations A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 and A8: rejected, as the Administration considers that the authorizations remain in force and that the environmental aspects were already evaluated in the environmental impact statement.

The Bulbuente City Council warned of the risk of fire due to the overflight of a poplar grove between supports T21 and T22 and proposed an alternative route between supports T19 and T33, which was discarded as technically and environmentally unfeasible. The dwelling on plot 61 of polygon 30 of Bulbuente was removed from the procedure as of September 26, 2024.

Effects and appeal deadlines

The declaration implies the need for occupation of the assets and urgent occupation for the purposes of Article 52 of the Law of December 16, 1954, on Compulsory Expropriation, and the right to occupy public domain or patrimonial lands. Against the order, which ends the administrative route, the following are possible:

• Optional appeal for reversal before the same body, within one month from the day following notification.
• Contentious-administrative appeal before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Aragon, within two months.

Both appeals cannot be pursued simultaneously.

The decision directly affects the owners of the estates included in the annex, who from now on may see their lands occupied or easements of way established, with the subsequent opening of the fair price phase. For the involved municipalities, the order consolidates the evacuation infrastructure associated with renewable generation facilities in the region, while establishing the legal framework to negotiate or litigate compensation.

Source: Official Gazette of Aragon, number 198, of October 13, 2026, section III (official reference: BOA20261013015).