The High Court of Justice of the Spanish region of Extremadura has ruled that land was illegally expropriated for the construction of the country's largest operating photovoltaic plant, the 500 MW Nunez de Balboa solar power plant in Usagres, near Badajoz. The owner of the solar park, Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, must now demolish 60 percent of the facility.
The owner of the property is Natura Manager, which owns 525 hectares of the 854 hectares covered by the solar park.
The court said: "The ruling shows that the land cannot be expropriated because it has been leased for 25 years. The expropriation request lacks grounds or justification for deprivation of property rights."
The court added that the company always had the legal right to build the plant without the need for expropriation.
"Nevertheless, it took all the actions it wanted to initiate the expropriation process, but without just cause, it ruled, noting that it also recognized "the right to resume the expropriation process. There is no PV plant on the farm and all its facilities."
A spokesman for Iberdrola told PV Magazine that the company will appeal to the Spanish Supreme Court. He claimed that the dispute involves only one of the three owners of the project site.
The company said, "Approximately 50 percent of this land is owned by two tenants, who at no time made any claims and who upheld and responded to the contract originally signed by the three owners. The expropriation process followed legal procedures and respected all existing rights and guarantees."
Iberdrola added that the plant was built under valid and legal ownership, so it does not believe it should be demolished. The facility has all the permits to produce energy and will continue to operate normally.