Regulatory Hurdles and Environmental Scrutiny Impede Spain's Wind Energy Expansion
The development of wind energy projects in Spain faces significant hurdles primarily driven by administrative procedures and environmental regulations.
According to recent data, 95 percent of the environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for new wind farms evaluated this year have been unfavorable, illustrating the regulatory bottleneck.
Out of 22 EIAs assessed during the year, only one received approval, highlighting the slow and subjective nature of the approval process, especially for projects over 50 MW handled by the national government.
Smaller projects under regional jurisdiction, which have lower energy capacities, are experiencing a similar pattern, with approximately 50 percent receiving positive evaluations. However, these projects tend to produce less energy, limiting their impact.
The Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE) raises concerns about inconsistent evaluation criteria, emphasizing that the decision-making process sometimes appears arbitrary and lacks objectivity.
Experts note that even projects with similar documentation are sometimes approved or denied based on subjective factors such as landscape impact or proximity to protected species, which may vary by evaluator.
AEE criticizes the interpretation of environmental principles, claiming that overly conservative assessments hamper renewable energy development and contradict European climate goals.
Many negative decisions are concentrated in northern regions such as Galicia, Castilla y Leon, and Cantabria, areas with notable environmental sensitivities and high levels of local opposition.
Projects are often denied due to perceived threats to biodiversity or proposed electrical infrastructure that might be used by future projects, raising concerns about contradictory criteria that delay progress.
Official sources from the Ministry stress that environmental evaluations are conducted through strict, rules-based procedures aligned with European and national legislation to ensure legal certainty and environmental protection.
The government states that rejection of certain projects is not intended to hamper renewable energy but to uphold legal commitments to biodiversity conservation and environmental standards.
However, the Association highlights the lack of transposition of EU directives prioritizing public interest in renewable expansion over species and habitat preservation, as not all autonomous regions incorporate these principles.
The sector shows a significant disparity between approved wind projects and those actually operational. Since 2018, 67,000 MW were permitted, but only about 4,300 MW are active, with remaining capacity delayed or denied due to environmental assessments.
Many approved projects are conditioned on measures that make them economically unviable, extending the delays and increasing costs for developers.
While photovoltaic projects fared slightly better this year with 87% approval of EIAs, their overall contribution is still less impactful compared to wind energy capacity, which offers a larger scale of power generation.
Addressing these regulatory and environmental challenges is essential for Spain to meet its renewable energy and decarbonization goals in the coming years.