Green light for environmental impact at the Monclues de la Granadella hybrid solar plant

The Renewable Energy Commission has given environmental green light to the Monclues hybrid solar photovoltaic plant project (11.7 MWp) and its evacuation infrastructures, promoted by Tarraco Eólica Les Garrigues, SL, in the municipality of La Granadella (les Garrigues). The agreement, adopted in the session of April 27, 2026, determines that the action does not need to be submitted to an ordinary environmental impact assessment, considering that it has no significant effects on the environment. The decision is made public through Resolution TER/3063/2026, of August 25, signed by the Director General of Environmental Policies and Natural Environment, Marc Vilahur Chiaraviglio, and published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC) number 9742, of September 1, 2026 (reference CVE-DOGC-A-26237033-2026).

A hybrid project leveraging the existing wind farm

The plant will be located on 17.4 hectares of agricultural land on non-urbanizable soil (polygon 14, plot 74), currently used for extensive rainfed herbaceous crops. The installation is part of a hybridization project with the Monclues wind farm (30 MW), from the same promoter, with which it will share a single connection point under Royal Decree-Law 23/2020. The energy will be evacuated through an underground medium-voltage line of 20 kV and approximately 1.5 km in length, which will connect to the existing SET Monclues substation (132/20 kV), from where it will be diverted to the Sant Antoni and Maials substations.

Among the main technical characteristics of the project, the following stand out:

• 19,470 photovoltaic panels of 600 Wp, arranged on 405 single-axis solar tracker structures.
• 3 inverters of 1,840 kVA and 3 transformation centers to raise the voltage to 20 kV.
• Hunting fences 2 m high, separated 18 cm from the ground to facilitate the passage of fauna.
• Underground low-voltage power line between the panels and the power stations.

Compensations to protect the Bonelli’s eagle

The project is located within the 95% kernel of the home range of the Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata), a species declared endangered. Although the current protocol provides for compensations in a 1:3 ratio, the report from the head of Biodiversity and Natural Environment justifies that the impact will not be “very significant” and sets a compensation of 1:1, equivalent to the 17.4 ha occupied. The promoter has proposed an agreement with the local hunters’ association to create a hunting refuge area with habitat improvement actions and restocking of prey species.

The agreement also incorporates a battery of additional conditions, including:

• Avoid affecting dry stone embankments and edges and minimize earthworks.
• Ensure that the Magí pond and its recharge zone are not affected.
• Prohibit the use of phytocides and biocides and establish a native herbaceous cover.
• Carry out the works during daylight hours, between August 15 and March 15, outside of the nesting season.
• Comply with forest fire prevention measures and the archaeological control of excavations.

A territory under cumulative pressure

The report acknowledges that the landscape impact cannot be limited only to this project, but must be assessed cumulatively: within a 5 km radius, there are more than 200 ha occupied by photovoltaic installations and three wind farms with up to 46 wind turbines. The landscape unit of the Garrigues Altes already records 1.13% of its surface occupied by solar plants, one of the highest percentages in the Terres de Lleida. However, the hybrid nature of the project allows for the optimization of evacuation infrastructures by utilizing the existing substation.

The environmental impact report will lose its validity if the project is not authorized within a maximum period of four years from its publication in the DOGC. The decision opens the door to the processing of the plant’s administrative authorization, which must comply with the established environmental conditions and notify the Territorial Environmental Office of Lleida of the start of the works.

Source: Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya, no. 9742, September 1, 2026, Announcements section (official reference: CVE-DOGC-A-26237033-2026).