Generalitat authorizes the Pinella 3 photovoltaic plant in Vila-real and its decommissioning

The Territorial Service of Industry, Energy and Mines of Castellón has granted Mediterranean Sun Power 1, S.L. the prior administrative authorization and the administrative construction authorization for the MSP1 Pinella 3 photovoltaic plant, with an installed capacity of 2,640 kW, and has approved its decommissioning and land restoration plan. The resolution, signed in Castellón de la Plana on September 1, 2026, by the head of the service, Gerardo Nebot García, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Castellón number 117, dated September 29, 2026, under reference 03969-2026, and resolves file ATALFE/2022/43/12. The authorizations are granted with retroactive effect from August 31, 2026.

A project on common non-developable land

The processing followed the integrated authorization procedure for photovoltaic plants located on non-developable land, established by Decree-law 14/2020, of August 7, of the Consell, regarding measures to accelerate the implementation of renewable energy facilities. The application was submitted on December 27, 2022, and the file was initiated by the STIEMC, with an agreement for admission for processing on April 14, 2025.

The municipal urban planning certificate-report, dated July 15, 2026, confirms that the generating groups are located on common non-developable land and that the intended use is compatible with the planning. The installation is located in the Pinella plot, polygon 37, parcels 102, 103, 108, and 109, in the municipality of Vila-real (Castellón).

Technical characteristics of the plant

• Promoter: Mediterranean Sun Power 1, S.L.
• Installed capacity: 2,640 kW, limited via plant control system to 2,600 kW
• Access capacity and guaranteed power: 2,600 kW
• Modules: 4,212 units of 730 W, monocrystalline silicon, with a peak power of 3,074.76 kW
• Inverters: 8 units of 330 kW at 40 ºC
• Anchoring: metal structures fixed to the ground via a driving system
• Transformation center: prefabricated building with two 1,600 kVA transformers and a 0.8/20 kV ratio
• Evacuation: 20 kV underground line to an independent sectioning center shared with the Pinella 2 installation (ATALFE/2023/187/12), transferred to the distributor
• Connection point: 20 kV line 15 LIN BECHI-ESMALGLAS of the ST Bechí (Nules), owned by I-DE Redes Eléctricas Inteligentes, S.A.U.

Public information and sectoral reports

The project was subject to two 30-day public information periods, announced in the Official Gazette of the Province of Castellón on December 18, 2025, and July 28, 2026, and in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana on December 30, 2025, and July 23, 2026. No allegations were submitted during either period.

Binding favorable reports from the competent bodies for land use planning and landscape, with references 23056_12135_R IEFTV and 25544EP, as well as the favorable proposal report from the Energy and Mining Inspection and Control Section dated August 31, 2026, are present. The landscape conditions require justifying the results of public participation, incorporating landscape integration measures into the study, and completing the decommissioning plan.

Decommissioning, guarantees, and deadlines

The global budget for the installation amounts to €1,101,968.21, while the decommissioning and restoration plan is valued at €49,240.28. The planned actions include the dismantling of modules, inverters, support structures, transformation centers, perimeter fencing, and underground lines, in addition to the recovery of the crops.

The holder must establish a financial guarantee of €61,495.20 before requesting the provisional operation authorization, and the city council may require a use and exploitation fee for non-urbanizable land equivalent to 2% of the material execution budget. The execution period for the installations may not exceed 20 months from the notification of the resolution, which does not exhaust administrative remedies: an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed before the General Directorate of Energy and Mines within one month.

The authorization consolidates the photovoltaic implementation in the municipality of Vila-real and sets the environmental, landscape, and economic conditions that the promoter must assume, including the restitution of the land at the end of the plant’s useful life. The 2% municipal fee and the decommissioning guarantee are the main economic and environmental returns for the municipality.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Castellón, no. 117, September 29, 2026, Regional Administration (official reference: 03969-2026).