Spain to fast-track solar PV permits in bid to tackle power crisis

• Spain is to fast-track solar PV projects with generation abilities of as much as 150MW as part of a collection of actions the country has enacted to help relieve an energy crisis influencing the nation.

The Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and also the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) authorized on Tuesday (29 March 2022) a series of procedures influencing the power market within the nation's nationwide planning framework and also in reaction to the economical and social repercussions of the battle in Ukraine.

During its most current council of priests meeting, the Spanish federal government dedicated to fast-track the preparation procedure of projects up to 150MW in size up until completion of 2024. The measures will just put on projects adjudicated to have a low or medium effect on the surrounding atmosphere, and also any projects located in the 'Red Natura 2000' zone-- a network of safeguarded locations mandated by the European Union-- will certainly not be eligible.

The federal government likewise revealed plans to liberate around 10% of the country's grid ability to enable up to 7GW of dispersed power generation to attach in between 2023 and 2025. Distribution network drivers in Spain will certainly also be mandated to dedicate some 10% of investments into their networks for small-scale renewables projects.

The action comes in the same week that Portugal's federal government revealed to PV Tech intends to forgo ecological effect evaluations for solar projects approximately 50MW in dimension, as efforts expand across the continent to remove the planning burden on renewables.

More procedures include an expansion of a cap on excessive profits by energy companies till 30 June, with the action additionally currently readied to impact long-term power acquisition contracts with a rate higher than EUR67/MWh (US$ 74/MWh).

The Spanish as well as Portuguese governments have likewise submitted new propositions to the European Compensation which could see a limitation positioned on the rate of gas of EUR30/MWh. The cap would certainly be short-term, lasting until the end of this year, and would be made to protect consumers from additional pricing volatility.