Álava takes over the processing of the special plan for the Ekian Berri photovoltaic park

The Provincial Council of Álava has initiated the processing and approval procedure for the special plan of the Ekian Berri photovoltaic park, promoted by Ekian Berri, AIE, on non-developable land in the municipalities of Arratzua-Ubarrundia and Vitoria-Gasteiz. The decision is formalized in Provincial Order 514/2026, of October 27, published in the Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava (BOTHA) No. 130, of November 11, 2026 (official reference 2026-03180). The Provincial Council assumes the processing after neither of the two affected city councils agreed to take charge of it.

The order is signed by the Deputy for Territorial Balance and Territorial Planning, Laura Pérez Borinaga, and is issued by the Department of Territorial Balance and Territorial Planning. The file begins with Provincial Order 411/2026, of September 2, published in BOTHA No. 103, of September 9, 2026 (reference 2026-02554), which granted the municipalities a two-month period to reach an agreement whereby one of them would assume the processing and approval of the special plan, in accordance with the mechanism provided for in Article 92 of the Law 2/2006, of June 30, on Land and Urban Planning of the Basque Country.

The provincial jurisdiction is based on Provincial Norm 10/2023, of March 15, on the Government, Organization, and Legal Regime of the Provincial Council of Álava, and on Provincial Decree 152/2023, of June 30, which establishes the provincial departments for the 2023-2027 legislature. The text acknowledges that Law 2/2006 lacks a provision equivalent to Article 4.2 of the repealed Law 5/1998 for plans of supra-municipal scope, a gap resolved judicially through the analogous application of the rules of Article 92 regarding compatibility plans.

Two waivers and an expired deadline

• September 3, 2026: the Provincial Council notifies Provincial Order 411/2026 to the city councils of Vitoria-Gasteiz and Arratzua-Ubarrundia.
• September 16, 2026: the plenary of Arratzua-Ubarrundia, in an ordinary session, expresses its waiver to assume the processing and approval of the special plan.
• October 5, 2026: the municipal agreement of Arratzua-Ubarrundia is notified to the Provincial Council of Álava.
• October 1, 2026: the councilor-delegate of the Department of City Model, Urbanism, Housing, Cleaning, and Environment of Vitoria-Gasteiz signs a decree of waiver to assume the processing.
• October 6, 2026: that resolution is notified to the provincial institution.

Once the deadline has passed and it has been established that “both corporations have not managed to reach an agreement,” the Provincial Council considers the procedure complete and assumes the processing and, where applicable, the approval of the special plan.

A 26.565 MW installation on the former Noryeste pond

The project is implemented in the environment of the Noryeste reservoir, a hydraulic irrigation infrastructure to supply the Noryeste Irrigation Community, the construction of which, promoted by the Provincial Council itself, concluded in 2004 with serious leakage problems that prevented it from being filled. The area, consisting of approximately 41 hectares of heavily anthropized land, is considered suitable due to its good solar resource.

• Promoters: Krean, part of the Mondragon corporation, the Basque Energy Agency (EVE), and the Provincial Council of Álava.
• Nominal power: 26.565 MW.
• Estimated production: 35,300.16 MWh annually.
• Model: each participating company or administration will own a portion of the electricity production, linking generation and consumption.
• Location: non-developable land in Arratzua-Ubarrundia and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
• Parallel sectoral processing before the Territorial Delegation of Industrial Administration of Álava, in accordance with Decree 48/2020, of March 31.

The special plan is required by Royal Legislative Decree 7/2015, of October 30, Law 2/2006, and Decree 105/2008, on Urgent Measures for the Development of Law 2/2006, as it involves an action on non-developable land exceeding 5,000 square meters and requires urban planning integration.

Environmental consultation and access to the file

The order provides for requesting the environmental body of the Provincial Council of Álava to initiate the ordinary strategic environmental assessment of the special plan, with consultation with the affected public administrations and interested parties. The draft plan and the initial strategic document are available at the Territorial Planning and Urbanism Service of the Provincial Council, during public office hours, and on the provincial website for special plans for wind farms.

The resolution will be notified to the environmental body, Ekian Berri, AIE, and the city councils of Arratzua-Ubarrundia and Vitoria-Gasteiz. As this is a non-qualified procedural act, no appeal may be filed against the provincial order.

The start of the procedure unlocks an energy project of regional scale that had been stalled for months due to the distribution of competencies between two local administrations and which affects owners of non-developable land in both municipalities. Furthermore, the provincial intervention establishes a criterion applicable to future supramunicipal special plans in Álava, by resolving through analogy a gap that Basque urban planning regulations do not expressly address.

Source: Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava (BOTHA), no. 130, of November 11, 2026, section I, pp. 1-2 (official reference: 2026-03180).