Satrebares 125 MW wind farm in Lugo and A Coruña dismissed

The General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines, under the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, has dismissed the application from Maracaibo Solar, SL for the prior administrative authorization of the “Satrebares” wind farm, with an installed capacity of 125 MW, and its evacuation infrastructure, in the provinces of Lugo and A Coruña. The decision, adopted by resolution on June 19, 2026, is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) number 212, dated August 28, 2026, and agrees to the archiving of file SGIISE/PEol-910.

The dismissal is based on the unfavorable environmental impact statement issued by the General Directorate of Environmental Quality and Assessment on March 31, 2026, published in BOE number 90, dated April 13, 2026. The environmental body identified potential negative impacts on the environment for which the measures proposed by the developer did not offer sufficient guarantee of prevention, correction, or compensation.

A project of state competence

The “Satrebares” wind farm exceeds the 50 MW threshold that grants the General State Administration the competence to authorize peninsular electricity production facilities, pursuant to article 3.13 of Law 24/2013, of December 26, on the Electricity Sector. The application was submitted on June 23, 2023, and updated on May 30, 2024, processed in accordance with Royal Decree 1955/2000, of December 1, and Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental assessment.

The installation would be located within the municipal boundaries of:

• Monfero and Aranga, in the province of A Coruña;
• Guitiriz, Aranga, Curtis, Oza Cesuras, and Abegondo, in the province of Lugo.

The evacuation infrastructure comprises internal 30 kV lines, the “SE Satrebares 1” and “SE Satrebares 2” 30/220 kV substations, the “SEC Satrebares 220 kV” compensating substation, and several 220 kV high-voltage lines, including the connection to the Abegondo 220 kV substation, owned by Red Eléctrica de España, SAU.

Expiration of access permits

The project had obtained access permission to the transmission grid at the Abegondo 220 kV substation. However, on December 19, 2025, Red Eléctrica de España, SAU communicated the expiration of the access and connection permits in application of Royal Decree-Law 23/2020, of June 23, which requires obtaining a favorable environmental impact statement within 31 months and prior administrative authorization within 34 months from the granting of the permits.

Royal Decree 1183/2020, of December 29, provides for a financial guarantee of 40 euros per installed kW for the processing of access. However, the resolution recalls that, if the expiration is motivated by a report or resolution from a public administration that prevents construction, the competent body may waive the execution of the deposited guarantee.

A precedent for the Galician renewable sector

The unfavorable environmental impact statement is mandatory and decisive, and therefore binds the substantive body, as the resolution recalls by citing the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court (Judgment 962/2022, of July 11). Following the notification of the second hearing procedure on April 15, 2026, the promoter did not submit any allegations within the period of fifteen business days.

Against the resolution, which does not exhaust administrative remedies, an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed before the holder of the Secretary of State for Energy within one month of its publication. The decision, signed by Director General Manuel García Hernández, represents a new milestone in the environmental control of wind projects in Galicia and reinforces the criterion that environmental protection prevails over the processing of large renewable installations when the impacts are not compensable.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 212, August 28, 2026, Sec. III, p. 117125 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-18277).