The Catalan wind sector, grouped in the employer’s association Eoliccat It is proposed to sue the Generalitat for “inaction” that could lead to complaints for patrimonial responsibility of the administration by project promoters. This industry, which criticizes obstacles that the new decree approved by the Government to the implementation of these energies, estimates that the modifications with respect to the 2019 regulation may involve patrimonial damages of about 150 million euros. Eoliccat estimates that there are at least 3,000 megawatts (MW) paralyzed, although they could reach 4,500, due to the inaction of the Government, who went through the presentation that determined the viability or not of the facilities, established in the previous regulation.
The employer organization, which will carry out its demand once the decree is approved by the Parliament, denounces that since the current Catalan Executive was formed, a de facto moratorium, by not processing hardly any project, with the consequent costs in the form of guarantees, fees and others that the project promoters have dedicated, according to the president of this employer’s association, Victor Cusí. In Catalonia, the introduction of renewables has been practically paralyzed for a decade. The organization is concerned about the transitory regime of the new decree, which may leave many projects in the air. One of the main costs are guarantees, of 40,000 euros per MW, that are constituted when connection to the network is requested prior to the different studies to carry out the project. This guarantee can be executed if the deadlines are not met, which in these cases would be the responsibility of the Generalitat. currently there are at least 120 million deposited in guarantees, according to Eoliccat’s calculations.
Transitional regime
Joan Perdigó, legal head of Eoliccat, has warned that the damages caused by the transitional regime They may entail high costs for the Generalitat due to the administration’s patrimonial liability by preventing the projects from reaching public exposure.
The new regulation of the Government prioritizes the decision of the owners of land and small and local wind energy productions, with the participation of the different territories, in addition to the creation of a public energy company.
The association manager, Jaume Morrón, ensures that the implementation of about 8,000 megawatts (MW) has been detected in Aragon, which will be evacuated in Catalonia and many of them are already being processed. They are facilities that will invest in the neighboring community and that will pay taxes in that territory.
Energy transition objective
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Another change that can occur is that projects are grouped so that, instead of being processed by the Generalitat, they go through the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
From Eoliccat they recall that the Generalitat itself foresees that in 2050 around 40% or 50% of the electricity demand will be covered with clean energy. From 2021 to 2030, Catalonia has to start up 6,000 photovoltaic MW and 4,000 new wind power, to comply with the climate change law. Today, in public information there are only 192 MW of photovoltaic solar power in Catalonia and 227 of wind power, of which only 17 are processed by the Catalan administration. To meet the objectives, it would be necessary to install about 1,000 MW per year.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com