Series: Occasional Papers. 2519.
Author: David Cuberes, Aitor Lacuesta, María de los Llanos Matea and Daniel Oto-Peralías
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Abstract
In Spain, the authority responsible for approving the installation of photovoltaic plants varies depending on whether or not their capacity exceeds 50 megawatts (MW). This paper analyses the effect of such regulation on the capacity of installed plants. Unlike in other countries, there is a noticeable discontinuity in the relationship between the number of photovoltaic plants and their capacity within the 40 MW-50 MW range. An analysis based on a sample of projects approved in 2024 suggests that this discontinuity may be due to strategic behaviour on the part of developers, motivated by longer processing times for administrative authorisation — by the Central Government Administration (AGE) — for projects over 50 MW, and to differences in the approval criteria of the AGE and some regional governments. However, this analysis does not provide conclusive evidence. This discontinuity, which is evident even when considering the combined capacity of plants located close to each other and owned by the same entity, could suggest the existence of economic inefficiencies related to these administrative differences.