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Assessment of the impact on protected areas.
In transposition of the provisions of Council Directive 92/43 / EEC, of May 21, 1992, on the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora («Habitats Directive»), Law 42 / 2007, of December 13, of the Natural Heritage and Biodiversity, requires that any plan, program or project that may appreciably affect Natura 2000 Network protected areas «be subjected [to] to an adequate evaluation of its repercussions on the space […] taking into account the conservation objectives of said space […] ”(art.6.4).
Potentially, any electrical installation that is within or in the vicinity of a protected space is likely to produce an appreciable effect on said space. It must be borne in mind that the mere possibility or risk that the plan or project has this impact is sufficient for it to be subject to evaluation.
The general regulation on environmental evaluation presumes that this effect occurs in the case of power lines of certain dimensions or characteristics and even some regional regulation presumes it for all types of electrical installations that are in the protected space.
In view of the conclusions of this evaluation, the competent bodies can only authorize an installation subject to evaluation after having ensured that it will not cause damage to the integrity of the space in question and, if applicable, having submitted it to public information (art. 6.4 Law 42/2007).
Exceptionally, the implementation of projects that cause damage to the spaces of the Natura Network is allowed, adopting as many compensatory measures as necessary, for «overriding reasons of first order public interest» that must be declared by law or by agreement of the Council of Ministers or the autonomous governing bodies (art. 6.5).
Projects subject to evaluation.
But even in cases where a Natura Network area is not affected, a prior assessment of the environmental effects of the electrical installations to be regularized may be mandatory.
Thus, Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental evaluation, submits the following projects to environmental evaluation:
- Thermal power plants and other combustion facilities with a thermal power of at least 300 MW.
- Construction of electric power transmission lines with a voltage equal to or greater than 220 kV and a length greater than 15 km, unless they run entirely underground on urbanized land, as well as their associated substations.
- Installations for the use of wind power for the production of energy (wind farms) that have 50 or more wind turbines, or that have more than 30 MW or that are less than 2 km from another wind farm in operation, in construction, with administrative authorization or with an environmental impact statement.
- Installations for the production of electrical energy from solar energy for sale to the grid, which are not located on roofs or roofs of existing buildings and which occupy more than 100 hectares of surface.
- Dams and other facilities where the stored water is greater than 10 cubic hectometres.
- The following projects developed in Protected Natural Areas, Natura 2000 Network and Protected Areas by international instruments, according to the regulation of Law 42/2007:
- Lines for the transmission of electrical energy with a length greater than 3 km, excluding those that cross urbanized areas.
- Wind farms that have more than 10 wind turbines or 6 MW of power.
- Installations for the production of hydroelectric energy.
- Industrial facilities for the production of electricity, steam and hot water with installed power equal to or greater than 100 MW.
- Construction of lines for the transmission of electrical energy with a voltage equal to or greater than 15 kV, which have a length greater than 3 km, unless they run entirely underground on urbanized land, as well as their associated substations.
- Installations for the production of hydroelectric energy.
- Installations for the use of the force of the wind for the production of energy. (Wind farms) not included in Annex I, except those for self-consumption that do not exceed 100 kW of total power.
- Installations for the production of energy in the marine environment.
- Installations for the production of electrical energy from solar energy, intended for sale to the grid, not included in Annex I or installed on roofs or roofs of buildings or on urban land and that occupy a surface greater than 10 ha.
- Dams and other facilities designed to retain water.
- Large dams.
- Other facilities designed to retain water.
- Any project that is developed in Protected Natural Areas, Natura 2000 Network and Areas protected by international instruments, and involves a change in land use equal to or greater than 10 ha.
- It may significantly affect, directly or indirectly, Natura 2000 Protected Areas.
Submission to environmental evaluation of lines and facilities constitutes an inexcusable procedure.
Regarding the pre-existence of the facility, European jurisprudence is clear in that any decision of the Member States that allows an activity to be carried out subject to evaluation of its repercussions, even if the activity in question was started before the authorization was granted, even though the activity would have started before the entry into force of the rules that impose this evaluation.
The evaluation must be carried out in such a way as to allow the purposes of the environmental impact procedure to be met, even if it is posteriori.
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