The Government approves the royal decree that regulates the installation of floating photovoltaic plants in reservoirs in the hydraulic public domain

• They will make it possible to increase the capacity of renewable electricity generation, promoting the energy transition and decarbonisation.

• These plants will reduce the evaporation of water masses and the presence of algae, and will produce more energy thanks to the cooling provided by the water and the reduction of dust.

• The size of the installations will range between 5% and 15% of the total surface, depending on the quality of the water.

AMPLITUDE DEPENDING ON WATER QUALITY

The royal decree conditions the solar installation on its compatibility with the corresponding Hydrological Plan, as well as with the needs of the exploitation of each reservoir, the pre-existing rights and uses, the environmental objectives of the water bodies and the procedure of environmental assessment. In addition, the extent of these facilities will be established depending on the trophic state of the reservoir in question: the worse the quality of its waters, the greater its coverage can be.

Photovoltaic plants will not be installed in lakes, lagoons or other bodies of water that are not considered highly modified or artificial, nor in those surfaces that, being highly modified or artificial, are affected by some environmental protection figure.

CONCESSIONS WITH A MAXIMUM DURATION OF 25 YEARS

The floating photovoltaic installations in the hydraulic public domain will be granted through temporary concessions with a maximum duration of 25 years, through a procedure that can be initiated at the instance of a party or through a call for public tenders by the body of basin