Canary Islands authorize Iberdrola's La Estrella photovoltaic plant in Arona

The Government of the Canary Islands has agreed to the execution of the installation “La Estrella Photovoltaic Plant, 4.5 MW”, promoted by Iberdrola Renovables Canarias, S.A.U. in the municipality of Arona, on the island of Tenerife, and has simultaneously ordered the modification of the affected territorial planning. The decision is formalized in Decree 149/2026, of October 5, published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC) no. 204, of October 13, 2026, within section III of Other Resolutions. The file, processed as ER224785, is resolved through the exceptional route of article 6 bis of Law 11/1997, of December 2, regulating the Canarian Electricity Sector.

The decree comes after neither the Insular Council of Tenerife nor the Arona City Council endorsed the project’s conformity with the planning in force. In the face of such disagreement, article 6 bis requires the project to be elevated to the Government of the Canary Islands, which decides whether its execution is appropriate, specifies its terms, and orders the competent administration to adapt the planning upon its first substantial modification. The Executive’s favorable agreement legitimizes the acts of construction, building, and land use in itself, without the need for an ordinary urban planning license or any other planning instrument.

Background: general interest and footprint displacement

• Order no. 112/2024, of May 7, from the Councilor for Ecological Transition and Energy: declares the general interest of the project, with 4.5 MW of installed capacity limited to 3.99 MW.
• Order no. 131/2026, of April 9: modifies the previous one to approve the displacement of the plant’s footprint and the reduction of its implementation area.
• Initial application from Iberdrola Renovables Canarias, S.A.U., submitted on February 7, 2023.
• Agreement of the Autonomous Environmental Evaluation Commission, of April 10, 2025: exemption from the environmental impact statement, adopted unanimously.
• Favorable report from the General Directorate of Natural Spaces and Biodiversity (currently the General Directorate of the Natural Environment), of October 13, 2025.

Disagreement of the Council and the City Council

Order no. 131/2026 was forwarded on April 13, 2026, to the Insular Council of Tenerife and the Arona City Council, with a one-month deadline to report on the conformity or non-conformity of the project with the territorial or urban planning.

The Island Council of Tenerife resolved on June 15, 2026, that the project fails to comply with article 3.3.2.2 of the PIOT, regarding the landscape and environmental integration of infrastructures, and article 3.3.2.3, regarding functional and territorial integration, in addition to failing to justify articles 17 and 19 of the Island Ordinance Regulating Wind and Photovoltaic Infrastructures. The Arona City Council had issued a report of non-conformity on May 8, 2026: the infrastructure lacks coverage in the municipal planning, does not constitute an ordinary use of rustic land for economic protection, agricultural subcategory, and permanently occupies public access roads.

Technical characteristics and evacuation

• Installed peak power of 5.4201 MWdc and 4.576 MWac in inverters.
• 7,743 modules connected in series of 29, with 13 string inverters distributed across the plant.
• A transformer and a transformation center inside the facility, which steps up the energy to 20 kV.
• Underground line to the sectioning center 4399 “CS FTV La Estrella” and connection to the medium voltage line MT Galletas_C, next to the transformation center 1747 TC of e-Distribución.
• Connection point granted by the distributor in its CTE of August 25, 2022, with a final link to the Chayofa 66 kV substation.
• Medium voltage circuit of 426 meters of HR5Z1 Al 12/20 kV 1x95 cable.

Energy and economic impact

The file estimates production at 9,997 MWh per year, with an annual reduction of 6,189 tons of CO2 and an approximate investment of 3,412,078.64 euros. The Canary Islands Energy Transition Plan (PTECan) sets a target of 343.2 MW of photovoltaics for the Tenerife electrical system by 2030, compared to the 158 MW currently installed on the island.

The owners of the affected lands signed a declaration of conformity with the implementation on September 30, 2026, considering that it allows the use to be compatible with lands that have had no effective agricultural exploitation for decades. Decree 149/2026 is signed by President Fernando Clavijo Batlle and the Councilor for Ecological Transition and Energy, Mariano Hernández Zapata, and it may be subject to an optional appeal for reversal within one month or a contentious-administrative appeal before the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands within two months.

The resolution unlocks a renewable installation on rustic land in Arona and sets a precedent on how the regional Executive can impose energy projects over municipal and island planning, with the consequent future modification of the territorial planning of southern Tenerife.

Source: Official Gazette of the Canary Islands, no. 204, October 13, 2026, section III (Other Resolutions), page 36943 (official reference: Decree 149/2026).