Complete environmental permitting of a solar PV plant: land-use, landscape, EIA and bird study

auma prepared the complete documentation package for the authorisation of a ground-mounted solar PV plant in Penedès, for a renewable energy developer: the specific action project (PAE), the landscape impact and integration study (EIIP), theenvironmental impact assessment (EIA) and the bird study.

Project overview

The challenge

Ground-mounted PV plants in Catalonia require a set of documents examined simultaneously by planning, landscape and environmental bodies:

• Four documents, one project: PAE, EIIP, EIA and bird study must be fully consistent with each other.
• Sensitive territory: landscape and agricultural fit is the most scrutinised issue for sites in Penedès.
• Wildlife: birdlife is often the decisive environmental factor for a PV plant's feasibility.

The auma solution

auma drafts the four documents as a single technical package:

• One cartographic and project data basis for all documents, removing inconsistencies between files.
• Landscape and agri-environmental integration measures designed from project inception, not bolted on at the end.
• A bird study focused on identifying and mitigating the site's real risks.

The result

• Complete package delivered, ready for review by the renewable energy panels.
• One team and one technical basis for all the documentation.
• A methodology replicated across multiple PV plants throughout Catalonia.

In ground-mounted solar, the difference between a project that advances and one that stalls is almost always the quality and consistency of the initial documentation package.

Frequently asked questions

What documents are needed to permit a solar plant in Catalonia?

For plants on rural land: the specific action project (PAE), the landscape impact and integration study (EIIP), the environmental impact assessment where required under Law 21/2013 and Decree-Law 16/2019, and specific studies such as the bird survey.

What is a specific action project (PAE)?

The planning document that legitimises a public-interest facility on rural land, such as a PV plant: it defines the layout, access, services and the conditions for restoring the land at the end of the plant's life.

Is a bird study required for a PV plant?

At most sites, yes: the environmental body requires it to assess effects on steppe birds and raptors. Fieldwork properly scaled to the site can avoid information requests that delay permitting by months.