Espejo taxes renewables installed on rural land by up to 10%

The Espejo City Council has finalized Fiscal Ordinance No. 21, which regulates the compensatory payment for the extraordinary use and exploitation of rural land and the non-tax public patrimonial payment for energy generation activities through renewable sources on rural land. The announcement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Córdoba No. 185, dated September 24, 2026, with reference BOP-A-2026-3186 and registration Rfa. Gex 2026/173. The regulation enters into force on the day of its publication in the provincial gazette.

The final approval comes after no claims were filed during the public exhibition period opened with the publication in the Official Gazette of the Province No. 29, dated February 12, 2026. The initial agreement was adopted by the Plenary on January 29, 2026, in accordance with Article 17.4 of Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004, of March 5, which approves the revised text of the Law regulating Local Treasuries. The full text is published in compliance with Article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the Bases of the Local Regime.

Legal basis and nature of the tax

The ordinance develops Article 22.5 of Law 7/2021, of December 1, for the Promotion of Territorial Sustainability of Andalusia (LISTA), which sets the maximum compensatory payment at 10% of the material execution budget, excluding the cost of machinery and equipment. For renewable installations, it is based on Article 12.1b of Law 2/2007, of March 27, on the promotion of renewable energies and energy saving and efficiency of Andalusia, which subjects these activities to a patrimonial payment of 10% of the total investment. It also refers to Decree 550/2021, which approves the General Regulation of LISTA.

The resource is configured as a non-tax public law payment, according to Article 2.1 h) of the revised text of the Law regulating Local Treasuries. Natural and legal persons who promote the activities are obliged to pay, and the accrual occurs upon the granting of the urban planning license.

Amounts and reductions

The general amount is 10% of the base, with two exceptions: single-family homes are always taxed at 15% and biogas and biomethane production industries at 10%. The ordinance establishes reductions based on investment volume:

• Compensatory payment: 3% between 50,000 and 500,000 euros; 2% between 500,001 and 1,000,000; 1% between 1,000,001 and 3,000,000; and 0.5% above 3,000,001 euros.
• Patrimonial payment for renewables, including evacuation infrastructures: 1% between 500,000 and 5,000,000 euros; and 0.5% if the investment exceeds 5,000,001 euros.

The basis for the asset contribution includes the material execution budget, general expenses and industrial profit, and technical fees, concepts which are set at a minimum of 25% of the material execution budget. Works on existing buildings that do not involve a change of use are not subject to this, and the renewal of limited-duration authorizations shall trigger the contribution again, reduced by 50%.

Destination of funds and resources

The compensatory contribution for extraordinary works shall be allocated to the Municipal Land Heritage. This ordinance repeals the previous Fiscal Ordinance No. 21 regulating the compensatory contribution on non-urbanizable land and shall apply to applications submitted both before and after its entry into force, provided it is in effect at the time of accrual.

An administrative appeal may be filed against the agreement within two months from the day following its publication, before the High Court of Justice of Andalusia, in accordance with Article 19 of the consolidated text of the Law regulating Local Treasuries. The announcement is signed by the mayor, Florentino Santos Santos, dated September 17, 2026.

The entry into force of the ordinance directly affects developers and owners of rural land in the municipality, who from now on must calculate the fiscal cost of their photovoltaic, wind, or biomethane projects before applying for a license. The scaling by investment volume relatively penalizes large projects less, while single-family homes on rural land bear the highest rate, at 15%.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Córdoba, No. 185 of September 24, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 13883-13889 (official reference: BOP-A-2026-3186).