Innovations in the Valencian energy sector: Law 6/2024 of 5 December on administrative simplification

As stated in the explanatory  of the Valencian Law 6/2024 of 5 December on administrative simplification (the "Law 6/2024"), the need to modernise and streamline the Public Administration in the Valencian Community is becoming increasingly urgent, especially in the current economic and social context where quick and efficient responses are required.

To this end, this law includes measures based on regulatory progress to increase transparency, legal certainty, administrative rationalisation and coordination between the administrations of the Valencian Community.

It should be noted that the text analysed here is largely taken from Decree-Law 7/2024 of 9 July on administrative simplification (the "Decree-Law 7/2024"), which it replicates by introducing certain nuances, modifications and corrections.

Law 6/2024 is cross-cutting in nature, however, we examine below the main innovations affecting the energy sector. These are:

New location criteria for the installation of photovoltaic power plants

The articles of the regulation include the criteria introduced by Decree-Law 7/2024, which aim to promote the multiple use of land. In this way, priority is given to facilities that combine energy generation with agricultural activity, facilities that contribute to the revitalisation of the environment or those that allow cooperation and collaboration with rural development networks. It should also be noted that the criterion that prioritised the use of the least possible land of high agrological value and that did not allow the implementation of photovoltaic plants on land with a very high agrological capacity has also been eliminated.

Likewise, the aim is to make use of abandoned, underused or under-productive agricultural land or land with limited viability, giving priority to the facilities to be installed there. However, in general, a maximum limit of 10% of the common and protected undeveloped land in each municipality is set for these facilities. 

Another novelty concerning the criteria for the location of photovoltaic installations is that a reduction of more than 10%, but not exceeding 50%, in the width of the territorial corridors affected by the installation is permitted, provided that it is guaranteed that the free width is greater than 500 metres, that ecological connectivity is not compromised, that the continuity of the existing road network is maintained and that corrective measures are implemented that contribute to the permeability of the installation. 

Inclusion of criteria for determining "splitting" cases

For those projects that are located in close proximity, that intend to be processed simultaneously and that cannot be determined whether or not they are truly separate facilities for the purposes of the limit set out in article 3.13.a of the Electricity Sector Act 24/2013, of 26 December, a series of criteria are set out to be assessed jointly:

• Belonging to different holding companies.
• Evacuate energy to different points in the distribution or transmission grid.
• To have functional autonomy and its own control and metering equipment that allows it to fulfil the purpose of producing electricity independently.
• Have its own transformer that raises the voltage to that required by the transmission or distribution network to which it has obtained permission for access and connection to the network.
• There is a distance between any of the generation elements of the installations greater than 500 metres.

Along the same lines, it is stipulated that projects that are split up in the interest of going through the regional process will not be processed when the calculation of the installed power of the projects as a whole indicates that they should go through the state process in accordance with these criteria.

Streamlining administrative procedures

In order to reduce administrative procedures concerning energy projects, the following formalities and requirements, among others, are abolished:

• A period of three months is established for issuing reports on spatial and landscape planning and a limit of two reports is set for each phase of the processing of each administrative milestone, without prejudice to those that may be issued as part of the consultation process with the public administrations.
• The thresholds of installed power that electricity production facilities must have in order to require operating authorisation are increased from 100 kW to 500 kW. The granting of these authorisations is also simplified by assigning their processing to the territorial services, unless they affect more than one province.
• The obligation to have completed construction and obtained the operating authorisation in order to be able to process authorisations for the transfer of the project is eliminated.
• Municipalities are prohibited from generally suspending the processing and granting of licences for photovoltaic power plants.

In conclusion, these modifications represent a significant step towards eliminating bureaucratic obstacles and streamlining administrative procedures concerning renewable energy projects. We will have to wait to see the real impact they have on the sector, which could translate into a greater number of investors, leading to the entry of capital and the development of new energy projects. 

If you would like to know more about Law 6/2024 of 5 December on administrative simplification or any other energy issues, please do not hesitate to contact one of our experts listed below or your usual contact at Osborne Clarke.