Energy dismisses the Tara solar plant and archives file PFot-753

The General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines has dismissed the application for prior administrative authorization for the “Tara” solar photovoltaic plant, with an installed capacity of 23.7 MW, promoted by Energía Inagotable de Tara, SL, and has agreed to archive file PFot-753. The resolution, signed in Madrid on August 31, 2026, by the Director General Manuel García Hernández, is published in the Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava no. 111, dated September 28, 2026, within section III of other public administrations (reference 2026-02625). The project included evacuation infrastructure running through Álava, as well as Zaragoza, Navarra, La Rioja, and Burgos.

The decision is adopted under Article 53 of Law 24/2013, of December 26, on the Electricity Sector, and Royal Decree 1955/2000, of December 1, which regulates the authorization procedures for electrical installations. The competent body is the General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines, under the Secretary of State for Energy of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, as it concerns an installation whose evacuation infrastructure exceeds the territorial scope of a single autonomous community.

A file opened in 2021 and split in 2025

Energía Inagotable de Tara, SL applied for prior administrative authorization on July 27, 2021, for a plant of 25.69 MWp / 23.70 MWn in the municipality of Tauste (Zaragoza). On August 10, 2021, the general directorate agreed to joint processing with the “Umiko” plant under file PFot-753AC.

On June 5, 2025, it was agreed to decouple them: “Umiko” (46.5 MW) moved to file PFot-752 and “Tara” remained under code PFot-753. The processing was distributed among the industry and energy bodies of the sub-delegations and delegations of the Government in Álava, Burgos, Navarra, La Rioja, and Aragón.

The expiration of access permits

The project obtained grid access permits through a Grid Access Feasibility Report (IVA) at the Jundiz 220 kV substation, owned by Red Eléctrica de España, SAU. These permits expired on October 29, 2023, as a favorable environmental impact statement was not obtained within the deadline, in accordance with Royal Decree-Law 23/2020, of June 23. On December 19, 2023, Red Eléctrica de España, SAU formally communicated this expiration to the ministry.

The evacuation infrastructure associated with the plant comprised:

• Tauste J2 30/220 kV Substation.
• 220 kV OHL Tauste J2 30/220 kV Substation – Fréscano 220/400 kV Substation.
• Frescano 400/200 kV Substation.
• 400 kV OHL Frescano 220/400 kV Substation – Promotores Jundiz 400/220 kV Substation.
• Promotores Jundiz 400/220 kV Substation.
• 220 kV overhead-underground line Promotores Jundiz 400/220 kV Substation – Jundiz 220 kV Substation (REE).

The Directorate General for Environmental Quality and Evaluation had issued an environmental impact statement on November 24, 2023, for the combined “Tara” and “Umiko” wind farms and their evacuation infrastructures.

Hearing without response and filing at the promoter’s request

On June 13, 2025, a hearing process was granted regarding the proposed dismissal resolution, with a period of fifteen business days that passed without a response from the promoter. On June 29, 2026, Energía Inagotable de Tara, SL submitted a writing requesting the filing of case PFot-753.

Royal Decree 1183/2020, of December 29, requires a financial guarantee of 40 euros per installed kW to process access and connection, the execution of which is immediate in case of expiration, unless such expiration is due to a report or resolution from a public administration that prevented construction.

Against the resolution, which does not end the administrative route, an appeal for reversal may be filed before the holder of the Secretary of State for Energy within one month from the day following its publication in the Official State Gazette.

The filing definitively closes a project that had spent nearly three years without valid access permits and which, had it been executed, would have deployed high-voltage lines and substations in Álava. The resolution confirms that the expiration of access permits due to failure to meet the milestones of Royal Decree-Law 23/2020 is sufficient to nullify a prior administrative authorization, without the need for a ruling on the environmental merits of the project.

Source: Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava, no. 111, September 28, 2026, section III, pp. 1-5 (official reference: 2026-02625).