The Regional Government authorizes the repowering of the Los Lances wind farm in Tarifa

The Territorial Delegation of the Ministry of University, Industry, Energy and Innovation in Cádiz has granted prior administrative authorization to Sociedad Eólica Los Lances, S.A. for the repowering of the Los Lances wind farm, in the municipality of Tarifa, with 9.06 MW of installed capacity. The resolution, signed on July 23, 2026, by the territorial delegate Inmaculada Olivero Corral, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Cádiz no. 208, of October 28, 2026, under number 250.620. The processed procedure is AT-15006/22.

The decision is adopted under Title VII of Royal Decree 1955/2000, of December 1, developing Law 24/2013, of December 26, on the Electricity Sector, and Andalusian regulations for the promotion of renewable energies. The project does not start from scratch: the Commissioning Certificate of the original installation was issued on June 6, 1999, with 17 wind turbines and 10.68 MW, under file AT-4157/97.

The company requested authorization on March 7, 2025, and the Delegation admitted the file for processing on May 28, 2025. The process went through public consultation with announcements in the Official Gazette of the Province of Cádiz no. 164, of August 26, 2022, and no. 210, of November 4, 2025; on October 6, 2025, a favorable report was received from the Territorial Delegation of Development, Infrastructure and Territorial Planning regarding territorial impact. On the environmental front, the Territorial Delegation in Cádiz of the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment issued on June 10, 2026, the Resolution for Substantial Modification of the Unified Environmental Authorization, file A1/76/1997/M1, which sets the environmental conditions for the action.

Three wind turbines and two underground lines

The authorized project includes the decommissioning of the facilities currently in service and their replacement by a plant with 9.06 MW of installed capacity, whose main characteristics are:

• 3 wind turbines model E-82 ENERCON or similar.
• Unit capacity of 3,020 kW, with a rotor 82 meters in diameter and a hub height of 78.3 meters.
• Generation voltage of 20 kV and grid frequency of 50 Hz.
• Underground line L1, between supports LL-03 and LL-02, 358 meters in length.
• Underground line L2, between LL-02 and LL-01, 287 meters.
• Cable type RH5Z1 OL12/20kV, with a medium voltage underground circuit of 150 mm².

Allegations from AGADEN and Somos Tarifa, dismissed

During the public information period, allegations were presented by the Asociación Gaditana para la Defensa y Estudio de la Naturaleza (AGADEN), the Plataforma Ciudadana Somos Tarifa, and Hennecke Gramatzki Rosa María. The resolution responds to them one by one. Regarding the individual, it replies that the public information announcement did expressly indicate that it was a repowering, and it refers the environmental allegations to the environmental body.

In the case of AGADEN, the Delegation rejects the alleged procedural irregularity regarding the new Environmental Impact Study with the argument that “this substantive processing does not include the environmental procedure, therefore it is not appropriate to publish” said study. The environmental allegations were forwarded to the competent body, and those regarding land-use planning are answered with the favorable report already obtained. The Plataforma Ciudadana Somos Tarifa is informed that it reproduces the same allegations already presented by the individual, “already responded to previously.”

Conditions, expiration, and appeal

The authorization comes with conditions and without immediate effects on the ground:

• Works may not begin until the holder obtains the administrative construction authorization.
• The deadline to request that construction authorization may not exceed two years from the resolution, expiring if it passes without being requested.
• The holder must comply with the conditions of environmental resolution A1/76/1997/M1 and the remaining conditions of sectoral administrations and bodies.
• As of January 1, 2026, electrical switchgear up to 24 kV with fluorinated greenhouse gases is prohibited, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2024/573.
• Against the resolution, which does not end the administrative route, an appeal for reversal (recurso de alzada) may be filed before the Counselor of University, Industry, Energy, and Innovation within one month.

The bodies consulted during the process were the Ayuntamiento de Tarifa, the Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea, the territorial delegations of Culture and Sports, Sustainability and Agriculture, Sociedad Eólica de Andalucía, S.A., the State Road Demarcation in Western Andalusia, Red Eléctrica de España, S.A., and E-distribución Redes Digitales, S.L.

With this publication, the oldest wind project on the Tarifa coast is formally unlocked after years of administrative litigation, although its execution still depends on the construction authorization and compliance with the environmental conditions. The announcement also arrives with a change in figures on the table: the public information announcement referred to a repowering of 11.5 MW, while the final resolution grants 9.06 MW.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Cádiz, no. 208, of October 28, 2026, section I, page 2 (official reference: no. 250.620, file AT-15006/22).