Solar plant between El Campello, Mutxamel, and Busot is shelved

Four years after presenting a proposal to build a massive solar facility in the Alicante region, the private effort has been cancelled. The government has denied Global Solar Energy Veintiséis, SL’s application to develop a photovoltaic facility between the municipalities of Alicante, El Campello, Mutxamel, and Busot.

The reason is the expiration of the access and connection permits originally granted to the company for the facility known as “PSF Leima,” with 109.9 MW of installed capacity, according to a resolution published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) by the General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines, under the Ministry for Ecological Transition.

The initiative, which was submitted in July 2021, was buried in bureaucracy from the start, with environmental impact studies being examined and multiple objections made.

In November 2023, the ministry reduced the land area by 55%, or 84 hectares, from 152 to 68 hectares.

Furthermore, the initial structure of the power lines to evacuate energy and inject it into the general grid had to be redesigned and approved by the central administration.

Project Changes

In February 2024, the developer obtained administrative approval after making a series of changes to the basic project:

• the reduction of the plant’s implementation area, which was initially planned for 167,185 photovoltaic modules
• the modification of the power of photovoltaic modules
• the decrease in installed capacity (from 109.9 MW to 50.1 MW)
• the change in the layout of the 220 kV evacuation power line and in the design, becoming completely underground
• The modification of the design of the Bonalba collector electrical substation, expanding the building’s surface area and reducing the transformation power for energy from the PSF Leima photovoltaic park.

In January 2025, the ministry also required the company to address up to 14 issues, including providing updated access and connection permits, conducting a hydrological study, and developing an environmental monitoring plan that included measures to ensure and facilitate groundwater infiltration and minimise aquifer disturbance.

Incomplete documentation

Global Solar Energy Veintiséis answered a month later, partially delivering the needed papers, according to the Official State Gazette (BOE), but the ministry insisted on three corrections before proceeding with the solar plant installation.

The first is a proposal for definitive implementation, which would eliminate fences around areas not occupied by solar panels, as well as botanical exploration and compensation zones.

The second alteration is to comply with the Landscape Service and Territorial Planning Service’s green infrastructure criteria.

The third step is to clarify the actions that will be taken to avoid objections from the Alicante City Council, as well as provide confirmation of compliance.

Authorisation

The developer submitted objections in March and May of last year, requesting an urgent and retroactive ruling on the construction permit.

In April 2025, Red Eléctrica de España declared that access and connection permits given under existing legislation would expire.

Finally, in July, the government declared that it was rejecting the request for prior administrative authorisation and administrative authorisation for the project, a move that the corporation supports.

Thus, four years later, after a series of changes, environmental impact studies, reports, and counter-reports, the project to establish the giant solar plant is complete.

Author: Derek Appleton