Photovoltaic solar energy is experiencing a period of acceleration in Spain, with records that place it around 26% of electricity generation and a pace of deployment that has doubled the installed capacity in just a few years. This momentum coexists, however, with a increasing scrutiny of the territory, biodiversity and security, in a context where information noise also circulates.
In recent weeks there have been new projects, administrative resources and public debates around solar plants of different sizes and locations. This article brings together the most relevant facts: the challenge to the plant SPK Trujillo In Extremadura, the verification of data on Garnacha Solar In Zamora, concerns after the fire Tres Cantos and a review of risks and good practices in photovoltaic installations, supported by informative information and recent technical data.
Solar expansion and growing environmental scrutiny
Ecologists in Action of Extremadura have filed an appeal with the Ministry of Education and Culture (MITERD). against the plant's authorization SPK Trujillo, promoted by Solarpack. The project, with an area of 427 hectares and over 260.000 modules, is located about 5 kilometers from TrujilloThe document maintains that the environmental impact assessment would not correspond to the finally authorized design, which there is impacts on protected non-urbanizable land and proximity to spaces Natura 2000, and denounces the absence of an analysis of cumulative impacts with other plants in the area. The organization requests the revocation of authorization and the suspension of effects in the event of possible irreparable damage to natural heritage.
In Castilla y León, the plant Garnacha Solar, 114 MW y 224 hectares in Toro (Zamora), maintains a sales contract whereby Google will acquire 70% of the energy for at least 12 years. Independent verifications indicate that The panels were not installed over vineyards; those who did occupy old vineyards were the substation associated with 6,28 hectares expropriated. This area represents nearly 0,22% of the vineyards of the municipality and around the 2,8% of the total area of the park, thus qualifying some statements spread on networks.
This deployment is accompanied by figures that help contextualize the sector's leap: photovoltaics already adds approx. 34 GW compared to 11 GW in 2020, placing the country as second in Europe in installed capacity, second only to Germany. National planning sets the target of 76 GW by 2030, with a notable boost from the industrial self-consumption. According to researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, the price of panels has fallen to a third in the last year, encouraging new investments.
The informative work of the website Fesolar, prepared by UPV staff, states that the lifespan of the panels overcomes the 40 years and allows you to calculate the time of carbon footprint amortization. It also reviews materials and technologies (from the silicon until perovskites) and clarifies that no rare earths are used in the conventional photovoltaic industry. In addition, it explores new forms of deployment, such as vertical panels, agrovoltaica o floating photovoltaics, designed to integrate generation into different land uses.
In parallel, corporate announcements continue. Audax Renewables has started in Navalmoral de la Mata (Cáceres) a plant of 21,88 MWp to 37.368 bifacial modules, which is expected to produce about 42 GWh per year (equivalent to about 14.000 homes) and avoid 11.466 tCO2 annual. The evacuation will be carried out by a line of 20 kV and 7.151 meters and the investment amounts to 17 millones de euros, financed with the ATThe company has also launched the strawberry tree plant (5,5 MWp) in Talavera de la Reina, within an expanding renewable portfolio.
Fires, safety and noise information
El Forest fire August in Tres Cantos, more than 1.500 hectares affected, has revived the debate on the location of energy infrastructure in the mountains of Madrid. Although initial investigations point to a natural origin, the temporal coincidence with the processing of projects such as photovoltaic GR Mandarin has generated concern among residents due to the landscape, biodiversity and safety distances to inhabited areas.
The regulations provide public information phases for allegations and demands respect minimum distances to housing, roads, and spaces of environmental value. Local groups are demanding more comprehensive impact studies and a more effective dissemination of procedures, especially in areas with high fire risk.
They have been spread on social networks messages that link without proof the fire with the processing of solar or biogas projects. Fact-checkers and official versions insist that there is no evidence of that relationship and point out the need for clear and accessible information to prevent the spread of hoaxes in situations of high social sensitivity.
About technical security In photovoltaic plants, incidents have been documented due to manufacturing defects, poor connections, deterioration of the wiring or failures in junction boxes that can cause electric arcs. Extinction is complex because of the risk of electrocution If the system continues to generate, which forces strict protocols disconnection and, sometimes, delaying the intervention until the radiation decreases.
The precedent of Talaván (Cáceres) illustrates the potential severity: a fire started in a plant resulted in a forest fire that activated level 1 of the INFOCAEX. Above 90 effective, with ground and air resources, worked for hours to stabilize the flames, which came close to Monroy. Quick action prevented them from reaching inhabited areas, but this episode reinforces the need for prevention, maintenance and surveillance continuous in facilities and their surroundings.
The acceleration of photovoltaics in Spain therefore coexists with a higher level of social and institutional demand. Well-located projects, Rigorous EIAs and updated, analysis of cumulative impacts, urban planning compatibility and measures of fire prevention are key to aligning the energy transition with the land conservation and public trust. Support from reliable information resources and effective citizen participation can make the difference between social rejection and acceptance of a deployment that, when done judiciously, can be integrated into the rural and natural environment without distorting it.
