Environmental green light for the Valdelentisco desalination plant's solar plant

The General Directorate of Environmental Quality and Assessment of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has formulated the environmental impact statement for the project “Valdelentisco Desalination Plant. Photovoltaic solar plant, in Cartagena-Mazarrón (Murcia)”, by resolution of August 31, 2026. The document is published in the Official State Gazette number 223, of September 9, 2026, in section III, with the reference BOE-A-2026-18894.

The action, promoted by Aguas de las Cuencas Mediterráneas, S.M.E., SA (ACUAMED), aims to reduce the energy costs of desalinated water production at the existing Valdelentisco desalination plant by supplying renewable energy generated at the new photovoltaic plant. The project is included in the Hydrological Plan of the Segura Hydrographic Demarcation 2022-2027 and is oriented towards providing users with desalinated water at an affordable cost for irrigation, reducing the overexploitation of aquifers.

Technical characteristics of the project

The solar plant, located in the municipality of Mazarrón, will generate a capacity of 54 MWp and will cover around 35% of the energy consumed by the expanded desalination plant. Its main elements are:

• 78,840 photovoltaic modules installed on 1,477 single-axis horizontal N-S solar trackers.
• 143 inverters connected to 8 transformation centers, interconnected by a 30 kV medium-voltage underground network.
• A perimeter fence of 11,330 m covering an area of 92.60 ha.
• An underground evacuation line of 30 kV, 7,764 m long, to the 30/132 kV step-up substation of the desalination plant.

The energy generated during the useful life of the installation will result in a saving of 56,937.03 tons of oil equivalent, contributing to the mitigation of climate change.

Selection of the alternative and processing

The environmental impact study analyzed three location alternatives, all of which were considered technically and environmentally viable. Alternative 2 was selected, covering 152.44 ha of mostly irrigated agricultural plots, between the towns of Mazarrón, Puerto de Mazarrón, and Bolnuevo, as it was the optimal solution according to environmental and technical criteria. The chosen evacuation line is entirely underground, running along existing roads.

The procedure was initiated with the request of the General Directorate of Water of MITECO, as the substantive body, on July 24, 2025, following the public information process carried out in the BOE and in the Official Gazette of the Region of Murcia in December 2024. Given the concurrence of an analogous request from the General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines, it was determined that the main activity is the hydraulic work, with the status of substantive body corresponding to the General Directorate of Water.

Environmental conditions and monitoring

The declaration incorporates conditions to mitigate impacts on air quality, noise, and electromagnetic fields. For the only identified sensitive-use building, it will be required to increase the depth of the trench and channel the conductors in galvanized pipes to reduce exposure. Measures are also established for the compensation of carbon stored in the soil and for the control of the risk of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) emissions.

Monitoring of compliance will be the responsibility of the General Directorate of Water, in coordination with the General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines, and a Monitoring Commission may be established. The resolution, signed by the director general Marta Gómez Palenque, is not subject to administrative appeal, without prejudice to any appropriate appeals against the project’s authorization act.

The environmental impact statement clears the main administrative hurdle for a key infrastructure in the water supply of the Spanish southeast, by allowing the Valdelentisco desalination plant to operate with renewable energy and reduce the cost of water for thousands of hectares of irrigated land in the Region of Murcia.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 223, September 9, 2026, Sec. III, page 120735 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-18894).