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

The Department of Economy, Competitiveness, and Employment of the Government of Aragon has specifically declared the public utility of the Caballos II wind farm, located within the municipal boundaries of Castellote, Berge, Molinos, and Seno (Teruel). The decision is formalized in Order ECE/1502/2026, dated September 23, published in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 204, dated October 21, 2026, in section III of other provisions and agreements (csv BOA20261021023). This recognition extends to the purposes of compulsory expropriation of necessary assets and rights and the imposition and exercise of the right-of-way easement.

The order was signed in Zaragoza on September 23, 2026, by the Councilor for Economy, Competitiveness, and Employment, Eva Valle Maestro, and responds to the request submitted on October 31, 2024, by Energías Alternativas de Teruel, SA, which completed the documentation on November 18 of that year. On January 13, 2026, the change of ownership in favor of Parques Eólicos Caballos y Hocino, SL (CIF B22827687), the current project promoter, was communicated. The administrative file is processed under numbers TE-AT0034/20 and DUP-T-2024-0014.

Background: prior authorization and environmental declaration

The wind farm has had prior administrative and construction authorization since the Resolution of July 24, 2024, from the Directorate General of Energy and Mines, published in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 176, dated September 10, 2024. The environmental assessment was resolved by the Aragonese Institute of Environmental Management (INAGA), which issued an environmental impact statement on January 19, 2023, for a 48 MW project, published in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 61, dated March 29, 2023. A subsequent addendum to the construction project reduced the capacity to 35.40 MW.

The public notice of the declaration of public utility was inserted in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 77, dated April 24, 2025, and in the Diario de Teruel on May 2, 2025, in addition to the notice boards of the affected town halls and the Government of Aragon website, with a thirty-day period. Affected parties were notified individually according to the list of affected assets and rights (RBDA).

Opposition from platforms and the Castellote Town Hall

During the process, allegations were received from the Association Platform in Favor of the Landscapes of Teruel and the Castellote Town Hall, which requested nullity due to non-compliance with the milestones of Royal Decree-Law 23/2020, project splitting, environmental impacts, and lack of justification for public utility. The council also forwarded the agreement from its ordinary plenary session of January 20, 2026, to “not authorize the installation of wind farms in the municipal district of Castellote,” communicated on February 17, 2026.

The Provincial Service of Teruel dismissed those objections in its report of March 23, 2026: it considered that the allegations must be limited to public utility and not to issues already assessed in the authorization and the environmental evaluation, and reminded that the competence is regional as the power is less than 50 MW. Regarding the Fuente del Salz, the order requires compliance with the resolutions of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, the marking of the fountain, the Camino de las Matas hut, and the Balsa de las Ranas, and the transport of the blades using the Blade Lifter system.

Affected mining rights and pending appeals

The order also resolves the coexistence with five mining rights, following the Resolution of December 23, 2025, of the General Directorate of Energy and Mines:

• Valdecastillo (no. 5740), held by Pamesa Cerámica Porcelánico, SLU: compatible.
• Prisma (no. 6100), held by Francisco Huesa Lahoz: compatible.
• Graderas II (no. 6113), held by Cerámica de Teruel, SA: compatible.
• Las Letras (no. 6606), held by Asistencia Nuevos Productos Minerales, SLU: incompatible until research activities are completed.
• Carlota (no. 6611), held by Asistencia Técnica Minera, SL: no ruling, as it has not been granted.

The annex of the order lists 106 estates across the four municipalities, with areas for flight easements, platforms, underground lines, roads, and temporary occupation. Against the order, which exhausts the administrative route, a motion for reconsideration may be filed within one month or a contentious-administrative appeal before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Aragon within two months. Procedure number 22/2025 is already recorded before section 1B of that chamber, at the request of the landscape platform, and the administrative appeals of that association and Apoyo a Teruel Existe remain pending resolution.

The declaration closes the administrative route for occupying the land and opens the expropriation phase on an urgent basis, a decisive step for a project that has accumulated three years of litigation and affects four municipalities in the Maestrazgo and Bajo Aragón regions of Teruel, where neighborhood and municipal opposition remains active.

Source: Official Gazette of Aragon, number 204, of October 21, 2026, section III (Other Provisions and Agreements) (official reference: BOA20261021023).