Canary Islands declares wind and solar hybridization in Agüimes of general interest

The Government of the Canary Islands has agreed to the execution of the installation “Hybridization of the Espinales Wind Farm with the Espinales Photovoltaic Plant,” of 2.7 MW, in the municipality of Agüimes, island of Gran Canaria, and has ordered the modification of the affected urban planning. The decision is formalized in Decree 147/2026, of September 15, approved following deliberation by the Government in its meeting on September 15, 2026, and published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (Boletín Oficial de Canarias) no. 190, of September 22, 2026. File ER225919 is promoted by the entity Energías Alternativas de las Islas, S.L.U.

The exceptional procedure of Article 6 bis

The processing began on November 27, 2024, when the promoter submitted a reasoned request for a declaration of general interest to the General Directorate of Energy of the Government of the Canary Islands. Order no. 51/2026, of February 2, from the Minister of Ecological Transition and Energy, declared the works to be of general interest under Article 6 bis of Law 11/1997, of December 2, regulating the Canarian Electricity Sector.

This order was forwarded to the Island Council of Gran Canaria and the City Council of Agüimes, with a one-month deadline to report on the project’s compliance with urban planning. Upon confirming the absence of specific applicable planning and a conditional island-level compliance, the referral to the Government of the Canary Islands became mandatory according to paragraph 6 of the aforementioned Article 6 bis.

The decree sets the effects of the authorization from September 1, 2026, applying retroactive effectiveness under Article 39.3 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, to avoid damages to the promoter due to the delay in granting.

Technical characteristics of the plant

The new installation is hybridized with the Espinales Wind Farm, of 6.3 MW, file ER150076, which is currently operational. Its main data are:

• Location: Montaña de Arinaga, plot of 1,020,528 m².
• Solar field of 3,047.76 kWp with 7,344 modules of 415 Wp.
• 54 inverters of 50 kW and a nominal system power of 2,700 kW.
• Three 1,000 kVA step-up transformers that increase the energy to 20 kV.
• Evacuation sharing the wind farm’s substation and line up to the SE Escobar.

The Espinales Wind Farm has final commissioning authorization for phases 1A and 1B, granted by resolutions of the General Directorate of Energy no. 1771/2022 and no. 749/2023, of November 4, 2022, and June 1, 2023.

Municipal, island, and environmental reports

The Agüimes City Council reported on February 23, 2026, that the affected plot of land is classified as intensive agricultural protection rural land and lacks express coverage in the planning, therefore making a declaration of public or social interest mandatory. The Insular Council of Gran Canaria, in a report dated April 24, 2026, concluded that conformity with the insular planning is conditional upon compliance with the determinations of the PIOGC 2022.

The project is exempt from an Environmental Impact Statement by agreement of the Autonomous Environmental Evaluation Commission on February 21, 2025. Furthermore, a report from the General Directorate of the Natural Environment dated September 1, 2026, concludes that it will not cause significant effects on biodiversity if the proposed conditions and mitigating measures are integrated.

Energy and Economic Benefits

The decree quantifies the positive impacts of the installation:

• Contribution to the Gran Canaria electrical subsystem of 4,642.41 MWh/year from renewable sources.
• Savings equivalent to 1,165.2 tons of oil equivalent per year.
• Annual reduction of 3,829.99 tons of CO₂.
• Approximate investment of 3,229,489.38 euros.

The text recalls that the Transmission Network Development Plan 2021-2026 sets a target of 180 MW of photovoltaics for Gran Canaria, with a current capacity of 144.16 MW, which is below the forecast.

Relevance

Decree 147/2026 legitimizes by itself the execution of construction acts and land use, without the need for another territorial or urban planning instrument, and mandates the adaptation of municipal planning in its first substantial modification. Against this act, which ends the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed before the Government within one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal before the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands within two months. The regulation directly affects the residents of Agüimes and the insular energy sector by opening an exceptional path for new renewable hybridizations on rural land.

Source: Official Gazette of the Canary Islands, no. 190, of September 22, 2026, III. Other Resolutions, page 35058 (official reference: BOC-A-2026-190-3299).