Regulation of the conditions for the installation of photovoltaic energy installations in the Franqueses del Vallès

The Ajuntament de les Franqueses del Vallès took the initiative to modify its General Planning Plan to be able to properly regulate the installation of photovoltaic renewable energy installations on non-developable land in its municipal area. The GMG team was in charge of drafting this PGO Amendment, which was initially approved on July 20, 2023, and which has subsequently been subject to public exhibition and environmental assessment. The plan proposes to regulate which areas of the municipality are suitable for the implementation of this type of facilities based on a detailed analysis of the territory. To do this, the different variables that can condition the location have been evaluated, taking into account environmental, landscape and heritage criteria: soil characteristics (edaphology, slope, lithology, erosion…), habitats, terrestrial connectivity, hydrology, irradiation, visibility, etc. The PGO Amendment foresees a detailed regulation based on different conditions of the location itself or other parameters, such as distances to roads, infrastructures, river courses, heritage elements, etc. In this way, it is guaranteed that the regulation responds to objective criteria. The application of these rules results in suitable, unsuitable or conditioned areas for the installation of solar energy capture facilities. The same plan verifies that the land suitable for this type of installation is sufficient to meet the current and future energy demand of the municipality, in accordance with the guidelines established by the Generalitat. Simultaneously with the processing of the plan, the Generalitat itself published a document on “Criteria for the implantation of photovoltaic solar plants on non-developable land”, which can be consulted in the Urban Planning Register of Catalonia, in which they are proposed parameters very similar to those proposed in the case of the Franqueses del Vallès.