Aragón declares the public utility of the Caballos wind farm in Teruel

The Department of Economy, Competitiveness, and Employment of the Government of Aragon has specifically recognized the public utility of the “Caballos” wind farm, with 48 MW, located in the municipalities of Castellote and Molinos (Teruel). The declaration enables the compulsory expropriation of the assets and rights necessary for its establishment and the imposition of the right-of-way easement. It is formalized through Order ECE/1491/2026, of September 23, published in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 203, of October 20, 2026 (reference BOA20261020019), within section III, Other Provisions and Agreements.

The regulation is signed by Councilor Eva Valle Maestro and affects files TE-AT0033/20 and DUP-T-2024-0012. The promoter is the company Parques Eólicos Caballos y Hocino, SL (CIF B22827687), which assumed ownership of the facility following the change communicated on January 13, 2026; the initial request for public utility had been submitted by Energías Alternativas de Teruel, SA on October 31, 2024, with the documentation completed on November 18 of that year.

The legal framework invoked consists of articles 54, 55, and 56 of Law 24/2013, of December 26, on the Electricity Sector, and article 23 of Decree-law 2/2016, of August 30, which assigns competence to the relevant councilor. According to article 56 of the law, the declaration implies urgent occupation for the purposes of article 52 of the Compulsory Expropriation Law of December 16, 1954.

An authorization already appealed since 2024

The immediate precedent is the Resolution of July 23, 2024, from the General Directorate of Energy and Mines, published in BOA number 175, of September 9, 2024, which granted the prior administrative and construction authorization. Several challenges have accumulated against it:

• Administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) by the Asociación Plataforma a favor de los Paisajes de Teruel, pending resolution; the suspension of execution was dismissed by Order of October 4, 2024.
• Appeal by Bernardo Ortega Fernández, inadmissible by Order of October 15, 2024.
• Appeal by the Asociación de Apoyo a Teruel Existe, pending; suspension dismissed by Order of October 22, 2024.
• Contentious-administrative appeal number 21/2025 before the First Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Aragon, at the request of the citizens’ platform.

The environmental assessment was established by the Resolution of January 13, 2023, from the Aragonese Institute of Environmental Management (INAGA), which formulated the environmental impact statement for the 48 MW project.

Castellote said no in a plenary session and the Executive moved forward

The public information was published in BOA number 43, of March 4, 2025, with a thirty-day period, and in the Diario de Teruel on March 6, 2025. Neither the City Council of Cuevas de Cañart nor that of Molinos issued a report, which the Administration interpreted as an absence of objection in accordance with article 146 of Royal Decree 1955/2000.

The City Council of Castellote also did not report, but it filed an allegation and, in a response sent on February 17, 2026, forwarded the agreement of its ordinary plenary session of January 20, 2026: “not to authorize the installation of wind farms in the municipal district of Castellote.” The regional Executive maintained the processing.

Land, public forests, and mining rights

The annex of the order lists approximately thirty plots in Castellote and Molinos considered necessary for expropriation, with platform surfaces, flight easements, roads, and temporary occupation. Among the owners are the City Council of Molinos, the Forest Protection Society of the City Council of Cuevas de Cañart, the Entity of Territorial Scope Lower than the Municipality of Cuevas de Cañart, and various private owners and heirs. Plots for which an agreement had already been reached with the owners were excluded.

Two mining rights also overlap:

• Research permit “Carlota”, number 6611, held by Asistencia Técnica Minera, SL, for sands and clays in Molinos, Castellote, and Ejulve, with 24 mining grids requested and no granting resolution.
• Research permit “Las Letras”, number 6606, held by Nuevos Productos Minerales, SLU, for sands, clays, and limestones, granted by Resolution of June 14, 2024.

A Resolution of October 13, 2025, from the General Directorate of Energy and Mines declared the works incompatible with “Las Letras” until the pending tasks were concluded; a subsequent report, sent on February 20, 2026, considered them compatible.

Dismissed allegations

Allegations were presented by the Association Platform in Favor of the Landscapes of Teruel, the City Council of La Zoma, and the City Council of Castellote, which questioned the fragmentation of the project, compliance with the milestones of Royal Decree-law 23/2020, the impact on the Eurasian sparrowhawk, and the lack of justification for public utility. The Provincial Service of Teruel dismissed them, considering that they exceeded the object of the procedure and that the claimants did not prove their status as interested parties.

Against the order, which exhausts the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed within one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal before the TSJ of Aragon within two months.

The publication closes the administrative route for dozens of landowners in the Maestrazgo region of Teruel, who now face the urgent occupation of their plots while the courts have yet to resolve the appeals against the park’s authorization. The conflict over wind power implementation in Teruel thus adds a new legal chapter with direct effects on the territory.

Source: Official Gazette of Aragon, number 203, of October 20, 2026, section III (Other Provisions and Agreements) (official reference: BOA20261020019).