Savanna Power withdraws from the Ciudad de Tartessos I photovoltaic project in Huelva

The General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines, of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, has accepted the withdrawal submitted by Savanna Power Solar 9, SLU regarding its application for administrative construction authorization for the Ciudad de Tartessos I photovoltaic installation, with an installed capacity of 59.09 MW, and its evacuation infrastructure. The decision is detailed in the Resolution of August 5, 2026, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) number 204, of August 20, 2026, in section III, page 115812, with official reference BOE-A-2026-17987, and agrees to the archiving of file SGIISE/PFot-542.

The project was located within the municipal boundaries of Trigueros, San Juan del Puerto, Moguer, and Palos de la Frontera, in the province of Huelva. The developer submitted its withdrawal request on September 19, 2025, also renouncing the prior administrative authorization granted on July 21, 2023.

The Seville-Huelva AVE, cause of abandonment

The withdrawal occurs following the final approval of the “Informative Study of the Seville-Huelva high-speed line,” communicated on December 9, 2024, by the Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility and published in the BOE on December 18, 2024. During the processing, the Railway Infrastructure Administrator (ADIF) reported that the implementation of the 220 kV collector substation would be affected by the layout of the future high-speed railway, without the compatibility of the project with the new line being determined.

The developer alleged that the environmental and final approval of the informative study directly affected its evacuation infrastructure, which is why it chose to withdraw from the procedure in accordance with article 94 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure.

A long-processing file

The project had accumulated a long administrative journey since its origin:

• Application for prior administrative authorization submitted on February 27, 2021, corrected on March 18, 2021.
• Agreement to accumulate the files of Ciudad de Tartessos I and Ciudad de Tartessos II (file PFot-542 AC), issued on March 22, 2021.
• Favorable environmental impact statement issued on April 20, 2023, and published in BOE number 112, of May 11, 2023.
• Prior administrative authorization granted on July 21, 2023, published in BOE number 186, of August 5, 2023.
• Application for construction authorization submitted on December 18, 2023.

The project had access permission granted by Red Eléctrica de España, SAU (REE) on September 21, 2020, and a connection permit dated January 5, 2022, although REE communicated the expiration of both permits on January 3, 2025. The developer requested the return of the deposited guarantees and asked that the execution of the financial guarantee be waived, understanding that the expiration was caused by the impact derived from the railway infrastructure.

Guarantees and final procedure

The hearing process regarding the proposed resolution was notified on July 24, 2026, and the developer responded on August 3, 2026, accepting the proposal in its entirety, with the express request that the exception for the execution of the financial guarantee deposited for the access and connection procedure be recorded. The resolution, signed by the Director General of Energy Policy and Mines, Manuel García Hernández, does not end the administrative route and allows for an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) before the Secretary of State for Energy within one month.

The filing of Ciudad de Tartessos I represents a new setback for photovoltaic generation in the province of Huelva, in a context where high-speed rail planning conditions the location of renewable evacuation infrastructures. The decision highlights the need to coordinate energy and railway planning to avoid compromising energy transition objectives in the Huelva territory.

Source: Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado), no. 204, August 20, 2026, Sec. III, page 115812 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-17987).