Navarre has the capacity to install up to 1,900 MW of wind power

The Government of Navarre approved a regional decree that speeds up the authorization of wind farm plants in the Community. Currently exceeds 50 installed with a wind energy of 1,016 MW. This decree, which repeals another of 1996, establishes a procedure “more in line” with the law 24/2013 of the electricity sector in order to “ensure the functionality of the process, the simplification of procedures and legal security.”

The Vice President of Economic Development, Manu Ayerdi, stressed that they want to “simplify the procedures to authorize new wind turbines and modify existing ones.” The legislation aims to have the promoters of the wind farm projects in one year have the authorizations to put them in motion. Some of the recently approved have had to wait more than two years.

The 2030 Horizon Energy Plan includes 50 new wind areas, with a potential to install between 1,286 and 1,900 MW. It qualifies 26 of those areas as high interest, with a power of 642 to 953 MW, 18 medium interest areas, with 474 to 711 MW, and six other casualties with power from 170 to 236 MW. “It is reasonable to think that there will be much more wind power in Navarre if we all do things well together,” he said. With this decree, the General Directorate responsible for energy matters becomes the sole interlocutor for those who promote wind farms or modify existing ones. Centralize the procedures of public information and consult administrations and interested individuals, coordinate environmental and urban development procedures and administrative authorizations for construction and exploitation.

suppresses procedure by psis The regulation suppresses the process by Sectoral Projects of Supramunicipal Incidence (PSIS) and “simplifies, expedites the processing and allows to formalize the parks case by case and not only the big projects”. For parks whose authorization is being processed upon the entry into force of the decree, they will become requests for authorization of authorized activities on undeveloped land and will be adapted ex officio by the department responsible for territorial planning to the provisions of the standard . The procedures already done will be validated.

The new regulation includes the requirements that must be met by the parks, whether they are new or modifications of existing ones, such as the authorization of facilities, documentation to be submitted, environmental impact study, public information, and consultation with administrations and interested parties. In addition, it details the characteristics of the start of the environmental and urban planning procedures, declaration of environmental impact, urban authorization and prior administrative authorization, period of applications, authorization of exploitation, and land restitution. The decree defines the wind farm as an installation for the production of electrical energy using wind as its primary energy. It will be constituted by a wind turbine or a group of them, electrically interconnected and with a single point of connection to the transport or distribution network. The evacuation infrastructure will form part of the park, which includes the connection with the transport or distribution network and, where appropriate, the transformation of electrical energy, the accesses of new construction or modification of existing ones.