The Regional Government authorizes the Cuesta del Rey wind farm in Burgos

The Territorial Service of Industry, Commerce, and Economy of Burgos, under the Department of Environment and Energy of the Regional Government of Castilla y León, has granted the prior administrative authorization, the administrative construction authorization, and the declaration of public utility, specifically for the «Cuesta del Rey» wind farm and its associated electrical installations. The resolution, signed on September 29, 2026, by the head of the Territorial Service, María Dolores Velasco Lajo, is published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León number 202, dated October 19, 2026, within section I.D of other provisions, under reference BOCYL-D-19102026-202-22. The project is promoted by the company Alerión Spain, S.L. (CIF B-67364885) under file PE/BU/001/2023.

A 9.6 megawatt farm and two wind turbines

The authorized installation is located within the municipal boundaries of Las Quintanillas, Tardajos, Alfoz de Quintanadueñas, and Burgos, and its main characteristics are as follows:

• Two Goldwind GW136/4.8 MW wind turbines or similar, with a rotor diameter of 136 meters and a hub height of 82 meters.
• Unit power of 4.8 MW and a total installed capacity of 9.6 MW.
• Sectioning center for the connection of the wind farm to the 30 kV underground network.
• 30 kV underground energy collection network up to the new «P.E. Cuesta del Rey» 30/45 kV substation.
• Step-up substation with a 10/12 MVA 45/30 kV power transformer and a 100 kVA auxiliary services transformer.
• 45 kV underground network up to the switching substation, owned by I-DE Redes Eléctricas Inteligentes, S.A.U., and an in-out branch to line 11 Burgos-Villimar I between supports 13873 and 13874.

Four years of processing and a dozen objections

The application was submitted on February 9, 2023, and accumulated up to five project modifications. The Territorial Environment Service of Burgos issued favorable environmental feasibility reports in 2023 and 2024, and the then Department of Environment, Housing, and Territorial Planning formulated the favorable environmental impact determination report through Order MAV/1473/2024, dated December 5, published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León number 243, dated December 17, 2024.

The public information process was published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León on February 24, 2026, in the Official Gazette of the Province of Burgos on March 2, 2026, and in the newspaper Diario de Burgos on February 24, 2026, in addition to the municipal notice boards. During the process, objections were submitted by Félix Nebreda de la Iglesia, Elena de la Iglesia, Dámaso José Esteban de la Iglesia, Eleuterio Puente de la Iglesia, Julio Jesús Santillana Juez —representing María Teresa Juez de Velasco—, Laura Calleja Álvarez, Paula Sancha Lara, the La Fuentona Cultural Association, and the City Council of Las Quintanillas, focusing on the environmental assessment, the impact on protected species and habitats of community interest, cumulative effects, and the layout of the evacuation line. The General Directorate of Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability responded on June 8, 2026, ratifying the environmental processing.

Lower height to protect Deobrígula and the Way of St. James

The most relevant condition arrived via heritage channels. On September 22, 2026, the Territorial Commission of Cultural Heritage of Burgos, in file OT-248/2026-1099, authorized the project after the developer accepted a reduction in the machinery: the hub height decreases from 115 to 82 meters, the rotor diameter from 170 to 136 meters, and the total height from 200 to 150 meters. The body considered that this reduction significantly decreases the visual impact on the Deobrígula Archaeological Zone and the Way of St. James.

Sectoral reports raised no opposition, although they set conditions: the General Directorate of Roads and Infrastructure and the Territorial Service of Mobility and Digital Transformation regarding the crossing with road SC-BU-26; the State Road Demarcation of Eastern Castilla y León, which authorized the crossings with the BU-30 and the BU-622 (file BUR-AUT-25-289); Enagás Transporte, S.A.U., which required the modification of the crossing with the “Haro-Burgos-Madrid” gas pipeline due to the position of valves B-05 Quintanadueñas; ADIF, regarding the crossing under the Burgos-Villalonquéjar branch line; and the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) regarding aeronautical easements.

Urgent expropriation and administrative appeal

The declaration of public utility implies the need for occupation or acquisition of the affected rights and entails urgent occupation for the purposes of Article 52 of the Compulsory Expropriation Law, in accordance with Article 56 of Law 24/2013 of the Electricity Sector. The resolution includes an annex with the list of affected assets and rights, including owners, cadastral data, and areas of full ownership, easement, and temporary occupation. An administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed within one month before the Director General of Energy and Mines of the Junta de Castilla y León against the resolution, which does not exhaust administrative remedies.

The authorization unlocks a project that had been in processing for more than three and a half years and opens the way to the effective occupation of estates in four municipalities of the Burgos district, with the consequent impact for the affected owners and for the renewable deployment of the province.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León, no. 202, October 19, 2026, section I.D (Other Provisions), page 97 (official reference: BOCYL-D-19102026-202-22).