Juan de Dios Lopez-Leiva
Juan de Dios Lopez-Leiva is a technical and industrial director at the Spanish Wind Energy Association (Asociación Empresarial Eólica (AEE)) and Professor of Marine Renewable Energies at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
Dr Daniel Beizsley provides investigation and advisory services to companies doing business in Spain.
Daniel: The Spanish government failed to pass its flagship ‘anti-blackout’ legislation in July. What does the legislative impasse mean for the country’s wind sector going forward?
Juan: Clearly, the immediate priority is to prevent the loss of wind projects that are already well advanced in the permitting process—or even under construction—and are at risk of being halted if they fail to meet the milestones set out in the current legislation. Without action, these projects could be suspended or lose their grid access and connection rights altogether. The sector is calling for a temporary suspension of the final milestone requirement for projects affected by legal or administrative delays.
The rules of the game should be clear, regardless of who is in government. We need a legal framework that provides clear, consistent interpretation and ensures uniform conditions across the country. Of course, if it’s possible to accelerate progress, that would be ideal. But we must always remember the goal: a stable, transparent framework that leaves no room for misinterpretation and ensures equal conditions for all. I understand it is complex, but that is the objective.
Daniel: What does the sector need to accelerate the upgrading of existing wind farms?
Juan: It is crucial to establish regulatory incentives and tools that make it possible for companies to maintain a steady pace of repowering projects so companies can plan ahead and avoid bottlenecks. This will ensure the industry can respond in time. Second, the incentives should actually encourage companies to make the decision to repower.
What is clear to us is that renewing the first generation of wind farms installed in Spain—located in areas with strong wind resources and operating for over 20 years—must be a priority. Repowering not only improves the technological efficiency of a wind farm, but also reduces environmental impact by minimising land use, while optimising both the territory and existing grid infrastructure.
It’s important to remember that repowering is ultimately a business decision—it can’t be forced—but the regulatory and fiscal framework should provide incentives for companies to take this step, as it benefits the country as a whole.
Finally, the regulatory framework should include a differentiated approach to environmental impact and help streamline the permitting process. In other words, support has two dimensions: economic or financial incentives, and regulatory facilitation. These processes still need to be significantly simplified and accelerated.
As things stand today, repowering a wind farm is more complex than building a new one from scratch—and that clearly needs to change.
Daniel: Your association has called for the creation of a National Repowering Plan. What benefits would such a plan bring?
Juan: The most obvious benefit is that the first 20 gigawatts were installed back in 2010. Many of these technologies are now quite old, though they still have some potential to support new functionalities. For roughly a third of the total installed capacity, the installations become more electrically efficient, their capacity increases, and they generate significantly more energy for the same installed power—sometimes up to 60% more.
For all these reasons, should be treated as a national priority. This, of course, is separate from the new capacity that still needs to be installed. But in any case, repowering is absolutely necessary, highly beneficial, and should move forward without delay.
Daniel: Dozens of wind projects are currently on hold in the north of Spain. What’s happening?
Juan: Right now, 2,800 megawatts of wind projects are on hold in Galicia. The High Court of Justice of Galicia needs to resolve all the cases where precautionary measures were applied.
Without this legal clarity, Spain could lose investment opportunities and slow down the growth of renewable energy. For investors, one thing is clear: beyond an attractive market, they need stability.
We’re talking about several billion euros in investment that could be lost, and that’s money that could benefit Galicia.
Until recently there was a fair amount of uncertainty about what would happen. But the ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the preliminary question has been a turning point for the future of wind energy in Galicia.
After three years of almost total paralysis, the CJEU has confirmed that the environmental authorisation procedures followed in recent years — and this is important, because the 2013 Environmental Permitting Law was being challenged — are fully compatible with European law.
This is a serious matter, but in the case of wind farms, the ruling confirms that the procedures were carried out correctly and comply with EU law. From our perspective, this restores legal certainty for the wind energy sector, which is strategic — not only for Galicia, one of the regions with the greatest wind potential, but also for Spain as a whole. Ultimately, it also supports technological development, industry, and the value chain.
During this period of standstill, nearly 100 projects were frozen. What’s needed now is for the High Court of Justice of Galicia to start clearing the backlog, lifting precautionary measures so these wind farms can move forward.
These are investments already committed, turbine components already purchased, jobs that haven’t been created, and opportunities for local industry and rural areas that have been blocked. This is about much more than just saying we could lose “X billion euros.” At its core, it’s about opportunities for people and for society — and those are things we cannot afford to lose.
Every wind farm that remains on hold also pushes us further from Spain’s and Europe’s decarbonization goals, which are urgent and non-negotiable. At the same time, we are missing the chance to attract energy-intensive industries to a region that could greatly benefit from abundant, affordable renewable energy, which also helps lower electricity prices.
We also need to consider European recovery funds and the Clean Industrial Deal framework, both of which require accelerating the energy transition — something we are committed to under the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC). The goal is to transform Galicia’s industry into a more sustainable and competitive economy, powered by wind energy.
For that to happen, the regulatory and legal framework needs to be stable, and there must be a clear path for advancing projects, avoiding inaction and judicial blockages, which only worsen the delays in deploying new wind capacity.
Many of these projects already have construction permits, meaning they have completed all necessary steps to be built. Now that the CJEU has cleared the legal doubts, the High Court of Justice of Galicia has both the opportunity and the responsibility to act, provide continuity, and resolve these cases as quickly as possible.
Daniel: Is the Spanish wind sector still an attractive option for investors?
Juan: Spain remains a very attractive market for wind energy. The country has abundant wind resources and a large portion of electricity generation still needs to be decarbonized. In that context, wind energy is the ideal solution compared with alternatives like building more combined-cycle plants.
Spain has also been a pioneer in onshore wind in Europe, and even in offshore wind, it has a complete domestic value chain. In fact, Spain is one of the few countries in Europe with 100% of the value chain located domestically which brings significant advantages in terms of construction and technical expertise.
From my perspective, the combination of technological capacity, industrial capability, and the urgent need to decarbonise gas-based generation makes Spain a highly attractive market.
Of course, there are some bottlenecks, such as resource allocation or the judicialisation of certain permitting processes, but these are challenges that can be addressed over time — they’re normal in any country, and solutions can be found.