Asturias declares Sunwafe's silicon wafer factory strategic

The Governing Council of the Principality of Asturias has declared the action promoted by Sunwafe, Sociedad Limitada to manufacture photovoltaic silicon ingots and wafers in the Zalia industrial estate, in Gijón, as a project of regional strategic interest (Pier). This is done through the Agreement of October 19, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) no. 208, of October 27, 2026, with official reference Code 2026-08688, within section I, in the operative part of the Department of Science, Industry and Employment.

A file of more than one year

The application was submitted by Sunwafe, S. L. on August 13, 2025, to the registry of the Department of Science, Industry and Employment, and was corrected on August 28, 2025. On August 29, 2026, the Vice-Department of Industry transferred the file to the Agency for Science, Business Competitiveness and Innovation (Sekuens), the managing body of the procedure according to the Law of the Principality of Asturias 7/2024, of December 20, on Projects of Strategic Interest (Pier Law).

Sekuens issued its proposal report on August 12, 2026, incorporating the technical requirements of the consulted bodies as conditions, and subsequently ratified it after adding the sectoral report from the General Directorate of Energy and Mining. The requested reports were as follows:

Gijón City Council.
State Road Demarcation.
General Directorate of Infrastructure of the Department of Mobility, Environment and Emergency Management.
General Directorate of Energy and Mining, at the request of the Vice-Department of Industry.

First phase: 5 GW, 670 million and 250 jobs

The declaration is limited exclusively to sub-phase 1 of the project, that is, the implementation of the industrial facility and the operation of an initial production capacity of 5 GW per year, without extending to subsequent phases. The project presented by the company refers to a production center of 300,000 m² in the Zalia industrial estate, sized to respond to 20 GW of power.

The agreement sets specific commitments for the promoter:

Minimum direct investment of 670 million euros in less than two years from obtaining the start-up authorizations.
Creation of 250 indefinite full-time direct jobs within a maximum period of three years.
Deposit of a guarantee of 1% of the investment, with a maximum of 300,000 euros, within five business days following notification.
Quarterly update of the project’s progress to Sekuens and an annual hiring report for three fiscal years.
Prior and express authorization from the Governing Council for any transfer of rights and obligations to third parties.

Electrical connection, pending condition

The report from the General Directorate of Energy and Mining conditions the favorable assessment on the accreditation of the technical viability of the supply, the obtaining of access and connection permits, and the authorization and execution of the electrical installations. The agreement identifies the following as essential for sub-phase 1:

A high-voltage connection solution appropriate for the power and demand profile, using the 132 kV infrastructure planned for Zalia as a reference.
The Entrevías 132/22 kV substation and its interconnections.
The positions, lines, and ducting necessary to connect Entrevías with the Sunwafe plot, in phase I of Zalia.
The modification, relocation, or undergrounding of the 132 kV line section affecting that plot.

These infrastructures are not included in the declaration at this time, although they may be incorporated through a future expansion at the request of the developer.

Roads, licenses, and environmental procedures

The General Directorate of Infrastructure requires the preservation of the functionality of the regional road network, the coordination of development with the Zalia-El Montico access and with the files for the AS-326 Tabaza-Somonte road, and the submission of a traffic study. The State Roads Demarcation requests a study in accordance with the criteria of reference MP-O-0531.1, which also analyzes the southwest link of Montico on the A-8 and the Lloreda-Veriña section for access to the port of El Musel.

The Gijón City Council warns of plots crossed by high-voltage overhead lines pending undergrounding and requires the Integrated Environmental Authorization in accordance with the Principality of Asturias Law 1/2003, of March 15, on Environmental Quality, prior to the building permit. An administrative appeal against the agreement may be filed within two months before the High Court of Justice of Asturias. The document is signed by the counselor Borja Sánchez García.

The declaration accelerates the processing of a large-scale industrial installation at a time of reconfiguration of the Asturian productive fabric: it conditions 670 million in investment and 250 stable jobs on the resolution of the electrical connection, the main unknown of a project destined to influence the industry, employment, and energy demand of the region.

Source: Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias, no. 208 of October 27, 2026, section I, page 1 (official reference: Code 2026-08688).