Current Status

The Ministry of Environment has proposed the creation of a new environmental licensing procedure called the Solar Environmental License (LASolar), to be processed before ANLA for solar energy generation projects ranging from 10 MW to 100 MW. Below are the key points of the draft:

1. Scope of the LASolar regime

• Applies to solar generation projects with an installed capacity ≥ 10 MW and ≤ 100 MW.
• The license also covers associated connection lines, provided they operate at voltages ≤ 220 kV.
• It is a streamlined procedure compared to the ordinary licensing process.

2. Criteria subject to verification by ANLA

A project may only qualify for LASolar if it meets the following criteria:

1. Location on altered or degraded areas

• The project must be located in anthropic land covers classified by CORINE Land Cover (levels 1–3) at a 1:25,000 scale.
• In areas classified as "forest," a maximum intervention of 20 hectares of forest cover or 10% of the total forest patch area is allowed.

2. Exclusion of sensitive water bodies

• Projects are prohibited in protection zones of springs, water sources, and marine-coastal areas (up to the high tide line).
• In riparian buffer zones, only strictly necessary linear infrastructure (e.g., connection lines) is allowed, subject to a watercourse occupation request as part of the EIA.

3. Minimum distance between generation projects

• The project must be located at least 500 meters away from other existing, operating, under-construction, or licensed solar energy generation projects.

4. Compatibility with territorial requirements

• All projects must analyze and comply with the conditions and restrictions set forth in the Land Use Plans (POT) and the environmental determinants defined by the competent authorities.

3. Requirements for Meeting the Criteria
   1. Request for Terms of Reference (ToR).
   2. Flat coordinates and location map.
   3. Pre-characterization of the area (1:10,000 scale).
   4. Preliminary description of the infrastructure and its activities within the project's area of intervention.
   5. Comprehensive description of all project phases (pre-construction, construction, operation, dismantling, abandonment).
   6. Analysis of land use and environmental determinants.
   7. Certificate from the Directorate of the National Authority for Prior Consultation (DANCP) regarding the applicability of free, prior, and informed consultation.
   8. Declaration and description in the EIA of social agreement schemes with community stakeholders, including support for the development of energy communities or other productive projects agreed upon with those communities and territorial authorities, considering the productivity of the territory affected by the project's occupation.

Only if ANLA verifies that the criteria are met will it issue the specific ToR for the EIA within 15 business days.

4. Parameters of the Terms of Reference (ToR)
   1. Project introduction.
   2. Project description including the area of influence.
   3. Environmental Baseline (Abiotic, Biotic, and Socioeconomic characterization).
   4. Demand, use, and exploitation of renewable natural resources and the environment.
   5. Identification and evaluation of environmental impacts.
   6. Environmental Management Plan.
   7. Implementation schedule.
   8. Implementation budget.
   9. Contingency plan.
   10. Climate change management plan, which must prioritize the avoidance of carbon dioxide (or other greenhouse gas) emissions rather than compensating for them after they occur.
   11. Closure, dismantling, and abandonment plan.
   12. Biotic environment compensation plan.
   13. Social agreements and governance.
   14. Cartography.
5. LASolar Evaluation Criteria

ANLA will evaluate the submitted Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) based on the following:

1. The area of influence for the biotic and abiotic components may not exceed the project's area of intervention. However, the area of influence for the socioeconomic component must follow the criteria for identifying territorial units.
2. Monitoring prior to the issuance of LASolar will only be required when resource use permits mandate it by law.
3. The Monitoring and Follow-up Plan, and its supplements, will only be required after LASolar is granted, during the environmental licensing follow-up stage.
4. The EIA will not require environmental characterization in two (2) climatic seasons, but rather modeling based on existing historical data.
5. Technological improvements to project infrastructure will not constitute a minor change or modification to LASolar during the follow-up stage. A simple notification to ANLA will suffice for its implementation to be valid.
6. ANLA will determine whether a prior site visit is necessary for granting LASolar.
7. Based on the inclusion criteria, there will be no requirement for characterization or activities related to surface or groundwater quality, education and culture, public health, air quality, noise and vibrations, solar radiation, or ecosystem services.
8. The environmental impact assessment must compare "with project" and "without project" scenarios. This evaluation must identify, characterize, and assess significant environmental impacts associated with each environmental factor, considering attributes such as magnitude, extent, duration, reversibility, and type of impact.

6. Streamlined Timelines for Granting LASolar

• Once the application is submitted to ANLA, the authority has a maximum of five business days to:
  • Conduct a preliminary verification of the required documents.
  • If everything is in order, issue the Initiation Order within the same five-day period.
• ANLA then has 10 business days to:
  • Review the submitted information.
  • Request additional information if necessary.
• The applicant has up to 30 business days, starting from the next business day after notification, to:
  • Clarify, modify, or supplement the documentation submitted with the initial application.
• If the applicant does not respond within this period (or request an extension), it will be understood that they have withdrawn the application.
• Once the clarifications or modifications are submitted, ANLA has 10 business days to:
  • Issue a decision on the feasibility of granting LASolar.
• Projects requiring prior consultation:
  • LASolar cannot be granted until the Free, Prior, and Informed Consultation process has been completed and formalized.
• Viability of LASolar:
  • Does not imply any obligation to allocate transmission capacity in the National Interconnected System for the solar project.

7. Transition Regime and Prohibition of Dual Processing

• An applicant cannot simultaneously process LASolar and the ordinary environmental license.
• Those who already have an ordinary license application in progress may withdraw and migrate to LASolar, provided they meet the requirements and pay the corresponding ANLA fee.

8. Compensations in LASolar Projects

• Applicants may include the implementation of Energy Communities and associated productive linkages, carried out under private law, as a form of compensation within the Biotic Environment Compensation Plan.

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