Environmental Impact Assessment Completed for the 54MW Valdelentisco PV Project in Spain

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The General Directorate for Environmental Quality and Assessment under Spain's Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has completed the Environmental Impact Statement for the photovoltaic project supporting the Valdelentisco desalination plant, which was published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado on September 9. The project is being developed by the state-owned company Acuamed and involves the construction of a 54MWp self-consumption photovoltaic plant and associated transmission facilities in Mazarrón, Region of Murcia, to supply power to the existing Valdelentisco desalination plant. The Environmental Impact Statement has entered the subsequent administrative approval process for the project, but the project still needs to obtain other environmental and sectoral permits required by law.

The project plans to install 78,840 photovoltaic modules distributed across 7 sites, equipped with 1,477 north-south horizontal single-axis trackers. The power generation system includes 143 inverters and 8 internal transformer facilities, with each unit connected to the switching station via a 30kV underground medium-voltage network. The perimeter fence of the photovoltaic site is approximately 11.33 kilometers long, covering an area of approximately 92.6 hectares.

The power transmission system uses a single 30kV underground line connecting the photovoltaic plant switching station to the existing 30/132kV step-up substation of the Valdelentisco desalination plant, with a line length of approximately 7.76 kilometers. A new 30/132kV main transformer will be added at the desalination plant's step-up substation; previously disclosed administrative authorization documents show that the transformer has a rated capacity of 50/55MVA. Project construction also includes internal roads, underground collector lines, switchgear, and modifications to the existing step-up substation.

According to data disclosed during the 2025 administrative authorization phase, the project's construction execution budget is approximately 29.59 million euros. The project was previously submitted for administrative authorization with a 54MWp DC-side capacity and approximately 50.23MW AC-side installed capacity; it entered public consultation for environmental impact assessment in December 2024, and further proceeded with administrative prior authorization for power facilities in August 2025. This Environmental Impact Statement constitutes a new approval milestone.

The Valdelentisco desalination plant has a designed maximum water production capacity of 70 million cubic meters per year. The new photovoltaic plant is planned to adopt a direct self-consumption model within the plant, and its estimated annual power generation is expected to cover approximately 35% of the desalination plant's annual electricity demand after expansion. The existing rooftop photovoltaic system of the desalination plant was completed in 2012, equipped with 2,774 modules with a total installed capacity of approximately 730kW, and is expected to generate approximately 1,190MWh annually.

The Environmental Impact Statement also imposes binding conditions on project construction and operation, including environmental management during construction, vegetation restoration, wildlife protection, landscape barriers, and long-term environmental monitoring. The project requires the construction of approximately 8.17 kilometers of vegetative barriers, and monthly environmental monitoring reports must be submitted during the construction period, with continuous monitoring conducted quarterly and annually during the operational period.