Changes in Land Use Due to the Development of Photovoltaic Solar Energy in the Region of Murcia (Spain)

Abstract

In recent years, the energy policies of both Spain and the European Union have pursued the development of renewable energies, including solar power. One way these installations will appear in the Region of Murcia is on bodies of water, which do not alter existing land uses, but ground-mounted solar energy installations do bring about such changes. The Region of Murcia is located in the south-eastern quadrant of the Iberian Peninsula. Positioned on the leeward side of the westerly zonal circulation, characteristic of mid-latitudes, and influenced by the layout of the Betic mountain ranges that cross it from north-west to south-east, it experiences significant scarcity and irregularity of rainfall. In contrast, it benefits from an abundance of sunlight, with more than 3400 h of sunshine per year. This makes it one of the most productive locations for capturing solar energy and converting it into electricity. As a result, the land occupied by photovoltaic parks has increased at the expense of dry farming areas, irrigated land, and woodland. High energy prices have also led to self-consumption measures, with solar panels being installed on the roofs of industrial buildings, floating panels in irrigation reservoirs, photovoltaic solar farms associated with desalination and lift irrigation pumps, and pressure required by localized irrigation, etc.

1. Introduction

Most European countries are not self-sufficient when it comes to energy production. The European Union is the world’s largest energy importer, importing more than half of the energy it consumes.

More than half (57.5%) of the total energy consumed in 2022 in the European Union (EU-27) came from other areas of the world, meaning high energy dependence, especially on fossil fuels such as oil and gas. [1]. In Spain, energy dependence that same year was even higher, since almost two-thirds of the energy consumed (67.9%) was covered by imports. This imbalance is similar to that of more than half a century ago, with self-sufficiency values from 1973 to 1986 standing at 32% [2,3].

Regarding the composition of energy consumption in Spain, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in 2020 it was 41.2% oil and derivatives, 25.2% natural gas, 13.7% nuclear, and 16.4% renewables. For the European Union as a whole that same year, according to EUROSTAT (European Statistical Office), the composition of energy consumption was 38.3% oil, 24.6% gas, 10.5% nuclear, and 11.1% renewables [4].

In the first few decades of the twenty-first century, measures to achieve the targets of the European Green Deal by 2030 (including the target for at least 32% of final energy consumption to be provided by renewable sources) are changing the composition of energy production and consumption in favor of renewable energies [5].

In 2022, 2641 TW/h (terawatts/hour) of energy were produced in the European Union, almost forty percent of which came from renewable sources. Fossil fuels accounted for 38% and nuclear fuel supplied over 20% [6]. In Spain, according to Red Eléctrica de España (REE), in 2022, of the total national electricity production (around 276,320 gigawatts/hour), more than a third (42.2%) came from renewable sources with 22.2% from wind and 10.1% photovoltaic solar energy. Of the rest, combined cycle plants produced 24.7% and nuclear generated 20.3%.

In 2022, the Region of Murcia had an installed capacity of 5285 MW, mainly in combined cycle plants (61.8%) and solar photovoltaic (26.2%) facilities. In that year, solar photovoltaic energy generated 2104 GWh and accounted for 18.1% of the regional mix. Of the total regional production of 11,624 GWh, combined cycle technology accounted for the highest level of production (66.9%), with renewables producing 22% and cogeneration 10.2%. According to Red Eléctrica de España, the region generated 11,624 GWh in 2022, and consumption was 9027 GWh; therefore, the region produced more than it consumed [7].

In this context, the development of agrivoltaics systems has gained increasing importance as a means of reconciling agricultural production with renewable energy generation, especially in areas with high solar radiation such as Southern Europe. Recent research highlights how these systems allow for efficient land use in agricultural zones, particularly in Mediterranean regions where radiation control and water management are crucial factors [8]. Technological advancements have also made it possible to integrate semi-transparent photovoltaic modules that can be adapted to different crops and spatial configurations [9]. From a territorial perspective, various studies have identified patterns and deployment models that differ based on the environmental, social, and economic conditions of each region. For instance, in Germany and the United Kingdom, social acceptance and economic viability have influenced the adoption of these systems [10,11], whereas in Spain and Italy, the focus has been on integrating them into traditional agricultural landscapes [12,13]. The literature also emphasizes the relevance of sociocultural factors and the degree of local participation in the acceptance of these dual land-use models [14,15]. Collectively, these studies suggest a territorial transformation in which sustainable energy solutions must be articulated with the agrarian, social, and landscape dynamics specific to each geographic context [16,17].

The Region of Murcia, located in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, covers an area of approximately 11,300 km². Its geography combines arid plains, interior mountain ranges, and an extensive coastal strip. The prevailing climate is semi-arid Mediterranean, characterized by low and irregular precipitation—ranging between 250 and 350 mm annually in the driest areas—and average annual temperatures between 17 °C and 19 °C. The scarcity and irregularity of rainfall is a consequence of its leeward position relative to the westerly atmospheric circulation and the Betic mountain ranges, which generate an orographic shelter and a foehn effect. In addition, the drylands south-east of this pluviometric barrier are influenced by subtropical subsidence during summer, further reinforcing arid conditions. The region experiences high solar radiation, with more than 3000 sunshine hours per year and global horizontal solar irradiation levels exceeding 5 kWh/m²/day across large portions of the territory. These conditions make Murcia particularly suitable for the development of photovoltaic solar energy facilities.

This focus on the development of renewable energy, particularly photovoltaic energy, is causing changes in land use. There has been a decline in dryland farming areas (lands that rely solely on scarce rainfall as their water resource) due to the crisis in dryland arboriculture and the unpredictability of herbaceous crops, which are frequently affected by droughts. More than 165,000 hectares ceased to be cultivated between 2014 and 2023 (

Table 1. General evolution of land in the Region of Murcia from 2014 to 2023 (based on land use in hectares). Source: Authors’ own chart based on CREM.

Year	Dryland Farming	Irrigated Farming	Meadows and Grasslands	Forest Area	Other Land Uses
2014	359,695	187,073	85,435	380,156	119,032
2015	338,695	178,536	84,920	405,968	123,334
2016	259,400	167,151	163,203	416,606	125,031
2017	253,269	187,834	146,882	418,375	125,227
2018	218,184	188,234	114,682	504,095	106,192
2019	222,196	189,536	110,248	502,300	107,107
2020	196,805	164,216	140,283	502,301	128,014
2021	187,981	169,757	145,484	494,324	134,073
2022	193,623	169,669	135,420	497,331	135,572
2023	194,526	164,294	132,586	504,323	135,916

), according to data from the Statistical Portal of the Region of Murcia [18], and part of these areas has been occupied by photovoltaic parks [3,19,20].

Landowners become rentiers for twenty-five years of a property they had already stopped cultivating or planned to abandon due to low or nonexistent profitability or because they had retired due to age [21,22].

Irrigated farmland does not expand at the expense of dryland areas; irrigation perimeters are fixed, and their expansion is not permitted. The focus is on modernization to achieve water savings and efficiency, as well as to enhance productivity and improve the quality of life for farmer-irrigators. Irrigated land resists being taken over by photovoltaic farms, especially in areas where irrigation generates higher employment and income. However, many irrigation communities, in response to high energy costs, are turning to photovoltaic self-consumption by installing solar panels on the water surfaces of reservoirs and on the slopes of irrigation ponds [23,24].

The Water–Energy–Agriculture Nexus, favoring photovoltaic energy, is creating a landscape dotted with small-scale solar panel installations for self-consumption, while larger areas are being taken over by major corporations. [25,26,27].

At the national level in Spain, geographers refer to the new “emerging” landscapes created by renewable energy installations [3]. Others focus on the significance of renewable energy for local development in certain southern regions, such as Extremadura [3,28] or Murcia [29], or on the development of solar energy in Andalusia [30].

Framework Governing Photovoltaic Solar Energy in Spain

During the twenty-first century, the European Union (EU) has promoted the development of renewable energies. The various energy policy measures adopted aim to make Europe a carbon-neutral continent, in other words, free from greenhouse gas emissions. The target for 2030 is that the share of energy supplied by renewable sources will be at least 32% of final consumption (Article 3 of Directive EU No 2018/2001 of the European Parliament). The situation created by the war in Ukraine, with Russia’s announcements to cut fossil fuel shipments to the rest of Europe, calls for swifter progress in the green transition, fostering the development of renewable energy. The European Commission approves the REpowerEU Plan and the “Goal 55” legislative package, which highlights the use of solar energy, in its solar thermal and solar photovoltaic farms.

According to Red Eléctrica de España (REE), the installed power for solar photovoltaic energy has grown from just 2 megawatts in 2000 to 3829 megawatts in 2010 and 24,255 megawatts in 2023. The greatest increase has been observed in recent years, tripling in the period 2019–2023 (Figure 1), following improvements to the regulatory framework for self-consumption (Law 24/2013 of December 26). Royal Decree-Law 15/2018 of October 15 repealed articles of Royal Decree 900/2015 that were considered obstacles to the expansion of self-consumption. These measures were further reinforced by Royal Decree 244/2019 of April 5, which regulates photovoltaic self-consumption, including the economic, technical, and administrative conditions governing it. Its purpose is to promote the production of renewable energy by consumers. Subsequent Royal Decrees (RD 1183/2020 and RD-Law 23/2020) focus on aspects such as access and connection to electricity transmission and distribution networks, as well as other measures for economic recovery.

In terms of solar photovoltaic power, electricity production has increased from around 2500 gigawatt hours in 2008 to 6423 gigawatt hours in 2010 and 36,033 gigawatt hours in 2023. Production has quadrupled in the last five years (2019–2023) (Figure 2).

In Spain, the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan 2021–2030 (published in the Official State Gazette of 31 March in 2021) foresees total installed power in the electricity sector of 161 GW produced by renewable energies by 2030, of which 39 GW (24.22%) will be solar photovoltaic.

Table 2. Main solar photovoltaic plants installed in Spain. Source: Authors’ own table based on data from the PRETOR register (MITECO).

Nº	Denomination (Place)	Municipality (Province)	Power (MW)	Occupied Surface Area (ha)	Entry into Operation
1	Photovoltaic plant Francisco Pizarro	Torrecilla de la Llesa y Aldeacantenera (Cáceres)	590	1300	2022
2	Photovoltaic plant Núñez de Balboa	Usagre (Badajoz)	500	1000	2020
3	Photovoltaic solar power plant of Mula	Mula (Murcia)	494	1000	2019
4	Photovoltaic complex Escatrón-Chiprana-Samper	Escatrón, Chiprana, Samper Salz, (Zaragoza)	420	1400	2024
5	Photovoltaic plant Guadahortuna	Guadahortuna (Granada)	375	1080	2024
6	Photovoltaic plant Talasol Solar	Talaván (Cáceres)	300	615	In test (2020)
7	Talayuela Solar	Talayuela (Cáceres)	300	800	In test (2020)
8	Photovoltaic plant Valdesolar	Valdeacaballeros (Badajóz)	264	700	2021
9	La Isla	Alcala de Guadaira (Sevilla)	182	520	2020
10	Calzadilla B	Bienvenida (Badajoz)	180	180	Exploitation authorization (2020)
11	Photovoltaic plant Don Rodrigo	Alcalá de Guadaira y Utrera (Sevilla)	174	300	2021
12	Guillena	Guillena (Sevilla)	121	280	2020
13	Photovoltaic park Olmedilla de Alarcón	Olmedilla de Alarcón (Cuenca)	85	350	2008
14	Photovoltaic park El Bonal	Puertollano (Ciudad Real)	79	115	2021
15	Photovoltaic solar plant La Magascona y La Magasquilla	Trujillo (Cáceres)	60	235	2011
16	Photovoltaic park Picón I, II y III	Porzuma (Ciudad Real)	50	90	2019
17	Solar plant Arnedo	Arnedo (La Rioja)	30	70	2008
18	Solar park SPEX	Mérida y Don Álvaro (Badajoz)	30	195	2008
19	Solar plant Osa de La Vega	Osa de La Vega (Cuenca)	30	80	2008
20	Photovoltaic park Casa de Los Pinos	Cuenca (Cuenca)	28	180	2008

shows some of the main solar photovoltaic plants in production or which are nearly operational. The highest level of installed power is generated by the Francisco Pizarro plant in the municipalities of Torrecilla de la Llesa and Aldeacantenera in Cáceres, followed by Nuñez de Balboa in Usagre (Badajoz) and Mula (Murcia). Between the three of them, they provide more than 1500 MW of installed power. The first fifteen plants in Table 2 all exceed more than 50 MW of installed power. A significant portion of the installed capacity corresponds to plants in the Extremadura region, which also leads in terms of occupied surface area. This is a territory characterized by large estates dedicated to extensive agricultural use and low population density. Andalusia follows, where large farms provide the vast areas required for these installations without the need to negotiate with multiple owners of medium or small properties to lease their land and create a continuous space that facilitates installation. In the cases of Mula and Zaragoza, the land occupied consists of semi-arid environments that do not generate economic profitability through dryland farming. The province of Cuenca and the municipality of Puertollano (both in the Castilla-La Mancha region) are areas with low human occupation. Social opposition to these installations has been minimal or has not reached the general public, despite the fact that the energy transition toward renewable sources such as solar photovoltaics has significant environmental and territorial impacts due to the occupation of large areas of land—sometimes fertile and scarce. Additionally, the routing of power evacuation lines from the plants and their connection to the electrical grid can sometimes overload the network in certain areas.

Fertile soil is a scarce and limited resource needed to produce food, to avoid shortages and hunger. Some authors argue that food production is a basic component of spatial heritage, along with natural and cultural heritage [31].

Since 2020, Spain’s Department for the Energy Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has identified territories in Spain with the most favorable environmental conditions for the implementation of photovoltaic energy installations with the creation of environmental zoning maps for renewable energies. These are environmental sensitivity maps classified into five categories: low (36.12% of the national territory), moderate (16.37%), high (11.19%), very high (3.47%), and maximum (32.85%) [32] (Figure 3).

This land consumption and change in use does not occur with floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) energy. The first photovoltaic system of its kind was installed in Aichi (Japan) in 2007. In Europe, the largest facilities have been installed since 2013. In Spain, the installation of such facilities on reservoirs requires regulation. In October 2022, MITECO announced draft legislation to regulate the installation of floating photovoltaic plants in public and private reservoirs located in the public water domain [33], which has resulted in the approval by the Council of Ministers on 9 July 2024 of MITECO’s proposed Royal Decree that regulates the requirements for granting permits to install floating photovoltaic plants, which could occupy between 5% and 15% of the total surface area of the body of water (Figure 4) [34].

2. Methods

The aim of this research is to analyze the development of photovoltaic solar energy in the Region of Murcia (Spain); the tensions between energy–territory–landscape; and the interrelations between energy processes, territories, changes in the landscape, and local development.

The occupation of land to harness photovoltaic solar energy has generated new, emerging landscapes [35]. We can distinguish between two main groups, depending on whether the installation is ground-mounted or floating on a body of water. In both landscapes, the scale, place, and site are important, but also the relationships that make it possible (incentives, lease contracts, social and economic profitability, regional regulations, financial support, municipal licenses, self-consumption, etc.).

The methodology used is regional geographical analysis, within a quantitative (development of solar photovoltaic energy in terms of installed power and occupied land area) and qualitative (acceptance or not by local residents and agents) research project.

The initial hypothesis is that there has been no rationality in the distribution of renewable energies in Spain. Zoning maps are being drawn up at national and regional levels (in Spain’s different self-governing regions) based on the European Union’s declaration of climate and environmental crisis in November 2019, and the Spanish Government’s parallel declaration in January 2020. In the case of Murcia, the Regional Council did not approve its own declaration of a climate and environmental emergency situation until its session on 4 June 2020.

Zoning maps are key instruments for understanding transformations of land use for the different renewable energy facilities. In order to guarantee the proper spatial and environmental integration of any such facility (at least projects with more than 50 MW of initial power), land suitability maps are drawn up, which include the most suitable areas for this type of facility.

This research analyzes the map prepared by Murcia’s Regional Department of Industry and Energy for the photovoltaic solar farms planned in 2023. The data for plants up to 50 MW installed in the Region of Murcia were provided by the Department of Energy and Industrial and Mining Activity, within Murcia’s Regional Department for the Environment, Universities, Research and the Mar Menor (CARM). Data related to Subsidies for energy efficiency and generation of renewable energy in Irrigation Associations have also been extremely helpful, provided by the CARM Department of Water, Farming and Fisheries.

We began our research by searching and analyzing the literature on solar energy (background), consulting sources such as the Administrative Register of Electrical Power Production Facilities (PRETOR) kept by the Spanish Department for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO), the MITECO Energy Balance (annual), and the 2022 Photovoltaic Yearbook of the National Association of Photovoltaic Energy Producers (ANPIER). We also visited photovoltaic solar energy installations in the Region of Murcia with more than 10 MW of initial installed power, along with facilities with lower levels of installed power associated with self-consumption.

Following our analysis and reflections on our readings and interviews, we expanded our starting hypothesis by questioning whether large photovoltaic solar parks (with more than 50 MW of initial installed power, and even those with more than 10 MW) lack social support (from locals and those who contemplate the landscape), while smaller ones destined for self-consumption are better accepted, both those installed by private individuals on their property and those currently being developed to create floating solar energy panels on bodies of water used by Irrigation Associations.

3. Results

The spatial distribution of photovoltaic solar energy production in the Region of Murcia is very uneven, although all municipalities have some kind of installation. There are more than 5300 renewable energy facilities in operation, most of them solar photovoltaic.

Table 3. Municipalities with more than 10,000 KW of installed power in renewable energies in the Region of Murcia. Source: Authors’ own table according to data published by the newspaper La Verdad on Sunday 12 February 2023 [36] and based on figures from the MITECO Secretary of State for Energy Policy and the CARM Department of Energy.

Municipality	Number of Installations	Power (KW/h)
Mula	144	505,916.10
Jumilla	517	257,637.54
Murcia	511	169,979.41
Lorca	896	140,346.35
Cartagena	129	138,905.39
Fuente Álamo	297	123,529.01
Totana	73	103,039.36
Yecla	179	63,463.85
Calasparra	128	57,351.95
Alhama de Murcia	497	55,972.44
Puerto Lumbreras	85	45,513.00
Las Torres de Cotillas	13	29,470.49
Cieza	323	28,915.85
Subtotal over 25.000 KW	3792	1,474,040.74
Percentage Subt./Total	71.53%	77.57%
Blanca	125	17,632.81
Moratalla	48	16,831.50
Mazarrón	158	15,747.32
Abanilla	250	13,676.00
Molina de Segura	201	12,937.40
Campos del Río	20	11,724.00
Torre Pacheco	49	11,240.93
Caravaca de La Cruz	122	10,768.93
Subtotal over 10.000 KW	4765	1,584,599.63
Percentage Subt./Total	89.89%	83.38%
Total of the 45 municipalities of the Region of Murcia	5301	1,900,350.13

shows that 12 of the 45 municipalities in the Region of Murcia account for more than two-thirds of renewable energy facilities (71.53%) and more than two-thirds of installed power (77.57%).

In recent years, there has been an extraordinary development of photovoltaic solar energy for self-consumption (registering more than 15,660 small installations that produce 247 MW/h), as families and businesses seek to reduce their electricity bill. Along such lines of contributions made by small facilities, in the last year, CARM has authorized 22 installations with less than 5 MW of installed power [37].

Photovoltaic solar energy facilities include those related to the energy for self-consumption produced by the Seawater Desalination Plant (SDP) and those that take regenerated waters from Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTPs) to ponds and reservoirs. Some are on land, on farms close to SDP and WWTPs, and others float on the reservoirs that accumulate waters generated through desalination or the regeneration of treated wastewater. They have been created to lower the energy costs of these water resource plants, so necessary in semi-arid environments such as the Region of Murcia and the south-east of Spain.

This phenomenon can also be seen in the increase of floating photovoltaic (FPV) solar panels in ponds and reservoirs used by Irrigation Associations, as in Lorca (in 2016), Puerto Lumbreras (in 2018), and Águilas (in 2020) (Figure 5). In the last five years, more than half of the costs registered by Irrigation Associations correspond to the energy needed for pumps and to maintain pressurized irrigation. This has led them to request subsidies from the central and regional governments to improve the energy efficiency of their facilities and generate renewable energy, and at the same time reduce CO₂ emissions.

The Region of Murcia has funding available for projects to improve energy efficiency and generate renewable energy in Rural Development Programmes. NextGeneration EU funds have also recently been used to cover these funding needs (

Table 4. Subsidies granted under Measure 4.3.1 to improve energy efficiency and generate renewable energy in Irrigation Associations, in 2020. Source: Department of Water, Farming, Fisheries and the Environment. Order of 22 May 2020 (Regulatory Bases) and Order of 15 June 2020 (call for applications).

Beneficiary	Municipality	Eligible Investment Budget (EUR)	Aid Granted (EUR)
C.R. Ascoy, Benís y Carrasquilla	Cieza	1,299,402.03	300,000.00
C.R. Puerto Lumbreras	Puerto Lumbreras	442,039.65	132,611.90
C.R. La Isla de la Matanza	Santomera	198,497.08	59,549.12
C.R. de Águilas	Águilas	1,172,029.51	257,838.98
TOTAL		3,111,968.27	750,000.00

and

Table 5. Proposal of subsidies included in Measure 4.3.1 to improve energy efficiency and generate renewable energy in Irrigation Associations, according to the 2022 call for applications. Source: Department of Water, Farming, Fisheries and the Environment. Order of 6 May 2022 (amendment of the Order of 22 May 2020 and Regulatory Bases). Department of Water, Farming, Fisheries, the Environment and Emergencies (2022 call for subsidy applications).

Beneficiary	Municipality	Eligible Investment Budget (EUR)	Aid Granted (EUR)
C.R. Miraflores	Jumilla	2,059,531.33	823,812.53
C.R. Pozo del Román Nostrum	Jumilla	1,109,066.26	443,626.50
C.R. Mazarrón	Mazarrón	2,020,390.83	808,156.33
C.R. La Marina	Águilas	2,122,024.84	848,809.94
C.R. Ascoy, Benís y Carrasquilla	Cieza	1,408,873.13	563,549.25
C.R. Pozo de la Aragona	Jumilla	373,694.42	149,477.77
C.R. Azarbe del Merancho	Santomera	565,216.86	226,086.74
C.R. de Puerto Lumbreras	Puerto Lumbreras	1,399,313.23	559,725.29
C.R. Pico de la Tienda de Jumilla	Jumilla	680,506.43	272,202.57
C.R. Hoya del Carche-Ermita	Yecla	703,226.12	281,290.45
C.R. Santo Cristo de la Columna	Jumilla	771,061.76	308,424.70
C.R. Jesús del Gran Poder de Cieza	Cieza	268,254.84	107,301.94
C.R. San Roque	Fortuna	822,843.92	329,137.57
C.R. Pozo Lázaro	Abarán	832,691.22	333,076.49
C.R. del Campo de Cartagena	Cartagena	1,562,412.59	624,965.04
C.R. Hoya del Mollidar-El Portichuelo	Yecla	1,634,439.22	653,775.69
C.R. Heredamiento de la Puebla de Mula	Mula	220,837.50	88,335.00
C.R. de Campotejar	Molina de Segura	548,034.32	219,213.73
C.R. del Pantano de la Cierva	Mula	468,068.07	187,227.23
C.R. TTS Comarca Calasparra-Cieza	Calasparra	1,738,293.97	695,317.59
TOTAL		21,308,780.86	8,523,512.35

).

The Rural Development Programme for the Region of Murcia 2014–2020 included Measure 4.3.1. “Irrigation infrastructures” for the improvement of energy efficiency and renewable energy generation in Irrigation Associations. Four Irrigation Associations (Ascoy-Benis-Carrasquilla, Puerto Lumbreras, La Isla de la Matanza, and Águilas) received a subsidy of 750,000 euros (24.10% of the total investment) under the Orders of 22 May 2020 and 15 June 2020 issued by the CARM Department of Water, Farming, Fisheries and the Environment (Table 4).

The new call for 2022 was launched with NextGeneration EU funds. Forty Irrigation Associations would benefit from this program, with subsidies amounting to 8,523,512.86 euros (40% of the total planned investment of more than 21 million euros). The Order of 6 May 2022 issued by the CARM Department of Water, Farming, Fisheries and the Environment amended the Order of 22 May 2020 in the establishment of regulatory bases. The Order of 1 June 2022 issued by this same department, now also called Emergencies, fixed a maximum subsidy amount of 850,000 euros per application (Table 5) [38].

In the Region of Murcia, as of 20 November 2023, solar photovoltaic projects currently in progress (with environmental assessment, prior administrative authorization of construction, and commissioning) accounted for 22 of the plants with more than 50 MW, with an installed capacity of 2600 MW (Figure 3 and

Table 6. Solar photovoltaic projects in the Region of Murcia, with an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) approved in 2023. Source: Authors’ own table with data from the Department of Spatial Policy.

Photovoltaic Project Code	Name	Place (Municipality)	Promoter	Power (MW)	Surface (ha)	Previous Use
Pfot 1-003	Lorca Solar	Lorca y Totana	X-Elio Andaltia Murcia S.L.	378,590	380,00	Rain-fed herbaceous crops and steppe scrubland
Pfot-008	Carril	Puerto Lumbreras y Lorca	Desarrollos Fotovoltaicos Carril 400 S.L.U.	360,000	461,00	Horticultural irrigation
Pfot-044	Campos 115	Campos del Rio	SPG Gestora Yechar S.L.	85,000	96,19	Rain-fed
Pfot-127	El Molino	Mula y Campos del Río	Marpani Solar 6 S.L.	84,800	121,90
Pfot-252	Luminora Solar Tres	Murcia y Torre Pacheco	Luminora Solar Tres S.L.	88,669	172,58	Rain-fed herbaceous crops and woody crops, Irrigated vegetable crops
Pfot-253	Luminora Solar Dos	Murcia, San Javier y San Pedro del Pinatar	Luminora Solar Dos S.L.	196,854	286,00	Irrigated vegetable crops and rain-fed herbaceous crops
Pfot-261	FV Pinatar	San Pedro del Pinatar	Fotovoltaiza Zarafot 6 S.L.	93,170	177,43	Non-citrus fruit trees and irrigated vegetable crops
Pfot-263	Balsicas	Torre-Pacheco	Energías Renovales de la Región de Murcia S.A.	85,925	177,15
Pfot-264	Balbona	Jumilla	Enel Green Power España S.L.	130,600	127,48
Pfot-283	La Flota II	Fortuna	Maristella Directorship S.L. y Marpani Solar 1 S.L.U.	87,343	173,00	Abandoned crops and scrubland
Pfot-386	Murcia I	Mula	Cobra S.L.	199,92	405,45	Rain-fed woody crops (almond and olive), arable land and pasture
Pfot-305	Mula II	Campos del Río y Mula	Cobra S.L.	114,40	280,00	Rain-fed and pasture
Pfot-386	Mula III	Mula	Cobra S.L.	65,00	132,95	Rain-fed woody crops (almond and olive), arable land and pasture
Pfot-434	Parque Fotovoltaico Fausita Solar	Murcia y Torre Pacheco	Desarrollos Renovables Iberia Alpha S.L.	250,00	598,00	Irrigated vegetable crops, rain-fed and scrubland
Pfot-468	Campos	Mula y Campos del Río	Enel Green Power España, S.L.	109,2	137,80	Rain-fed woody crops and irrigated trees (almond, apricot, and lemon trees)
Pfot-795	Parque Fotovoltaico Rojalinda	Murcia	Energía, Innovación y Desarrollo Fotovoltaico S.A.	70,80	97,50	Rain-fed woody crops (almond)

¹ Pfot: is the acronym for photovoltaic plant in Spanish.

) and representing an initial investment of around 1800 million euros. The average was 692,307.69 euros per megawatt of installed power. There were 175 projects of up to 50 MW of installed initial power, with total installed power of 2200 MW and an expected investment of 1500 million euros. The average was 681,818.18 euros per megawatt of installed power. The interviews carried out increase these averages slightly to around 800,000 euros per MW. The biggest problem in terms of commissioning was the capacity to access the grid with the energy generated (certain connection points were saturated and had non-existent access capacity) because there is currently no capacity to accommodate new connections to the power grid (Table 6).

4. Discussion

On an academic level, there has been broad discussion in recent years about the development of renewable energies. Research shows that in Spain the development of these energies has not been accompanied by a real assessment of the spatial potential for their implementation [30]. Likewise, they have been implemented without specific regulatory instruments in terms of spatial planning for their implementation [20]. Mapping has been carried out quickly and sometimes in a disordered manner, leading to problems in social acceptance. Studies in regions such as Extremadura show that large projects (in terms of capital invested, area occupied, or energy produced) do not foster the development of the affected territories and societies [29]. In the Region of Murcia, there has been strong opposition in places where the land occupied is on areas of intensive modernized irrigated farmland, such as Puerto Lumbreras (Murcia) on 11 April 2024 [39] (Figure 6), or in San Miguel de Salinas (Alicante) on 7 May 2024, where they have seen plans to install a solar farm, which would supply energy to the desalination plant of Torrevieja, on 200 ha of irrigable agricultural land belonging to this municipality [30] (Figure 7).

For the residents of San Miguel de Salinas (Alicante), renewable energies are acceptable, but not at the cost of occupying areas of irrigable land that they have worked so hard to transform and which are an important pillar of their economy. They argue that the environmental impact study carried out by the company that manages the desalination plant, Aguas de la Cuencas Mediterráneas S.A. (ACUAMED), did not evaluate the economic, cultural, and social impact on the town. For them, the installation of the renewable energy plant is not “as green” as their citrus orchards.

The problem surrounding the installation of this solar energy plant, and others that will be implemented, is linked to the government’s policy enacted through the Department for the Ecological Transition (MINECO) of restricting the transfer of waters from the river Tajo to the Segura for the purpose of irrigation. If the land transformed into land irrigated with these waters does not disappear, maintaining the land requires the use of desalinated water. Desalination plants have emerged through the need for water to supply both urban and agricultural uses in times of drought, and the desire to create new urban developments for leisure and recreation, with golf courses as a bastion of these new transformations, and the insatiable desire for water for new irrigable land. The cost of energy in a country that is dependent on traditional energy sources requires the consideration of renewable energies, mainly wind and solar. The public response to urban leisure developments due to their problematic water requirements and the crisis caused by excessive construction did not seek to stop the creation of desalination plants. The recurring droughts in these Mediterranean areas, the growth of the population, the development of tourism activity, and the commitment to its growth, as well as the need to maintain irrigated land due to the economy derived from this activity, justify the development of these infrastructures. The drought of 2023–2024 is a sign of their need. Regions such as Catalonia, which does not suffer from the intense and extensive periods of droughts of the south-east of Spain, have been subject to restrictions due to their insufficient infrastructure to overcome the lack of water using traditional means of supply. The south-east of Spain has not faced any restrictions due to the operation of desalination plants, together with other actions and behaviours typical of a territory resilient to these climate events. However, the price of desalinated water may be affordable for urban consumption, but it is not for agricultural consumption, which has led to subsidization by the government, which, if it advocates restricting and even eliminating the transfer of water from the river Tajo to the Segura, must allow for another alternative, which has been desalination plants. The need to maintain the demand for its product to sustain and justify desalination plants, which the government itself advocates, is linked to its policy of reducing water consignments for agricultural use, the major consumer of water. At the same time, the expansion of irrigated area is prohibited, and the intention is to eliminate any land that is not classified as a consolidated area, and therefore legalized, by a specific date. In addition to rain-fed land, which is not very productive and yields variable results, where cultivation has been abandoned, there are also abandoned irrigated spaces, which are either turned back into rain-fed land or left uncultivated. A “reserve” of potentially agricultural but uncultivated land is being created for occupation by photovoltaic installations, which are currently large consumers of land. Farmers see solar energy as an outlet for their agricultural land, which they seek to rent for 25 years at prices per hectare and year that depend on their location with regard to the nearest electrical substation (the point at which the energy produced by the panels must be channeled into the power grid for distribution).

The Cartagena-Mar Menor countryside has many abandoned agricultural spaces and more than 3000 h of sunshine per year, which is why it is the focus of so many projects for installing solar energy farms (Figure 8).

The installation of photovoltaic solar farms is not only being contested because of the occupation of land within irrigable areas that are the basis of local economies, but also by associations that defend the landscape and environmental heritage of the territory. The Federation of Cartagena Countryside Alliances for the Management of Photovoltaic Installations (ACCOIF) encompasses around thirty associations in the region that argue that “photovoltaic farms gravely alter the landscape” [41] (Figure 8). Although they express their commitment to renewable energies and photovoltaic self-consumption, they ask that “these installations be developed in an orderly manner and without prejudice to the environment or public interests”.

In territories such as Castilla-León, there have also been complaints made about these facilities. In this case, it is because of the “forced expropriation of land” when companies that promote photovoltaic macro parks do not reach private agreements with the owners of the land where they intend to locate them. ASAJA (Agricultural Association of Young Farmers) has denounced this fact for two macro farms: La Llanada and Valtarafón, both in this same area. They argue that the “projects do not respond to general interest, but purely and exclusively to the interest of their developers, and that in any case they could always be located elsewhere”. They insist that “developers take advantage of the fact that farmers and other owners, due to smallholder farming, are working with small plots of land, so in economic terms they are not usually interested in opposing or advocating a fair price in long and expensive legal proceedings” [42].

Despite the difficulties related to the space that such facilities would occupy due to the loss of landscape and environmental value, and with the insufficient contribution to local development that these facilities entail, the position of the department is to promote them, nonetheless. It seeks new possibilities for installing plants, as it has done when regulating the installation of photovoltaic farms on public reservoirs, passing a decree in July 2024. These facilities exist within the private sector on the irrigation rafts of Irrigation Associations and have been justified by the same benefits highlighted by the department. However, the decree has aroused the suspicions of such associations, channeled through the National Irrigation Federation (FENACORE), because this type of facility could cause conflict in reservoirs intended for irrigation in the event that a certain volume of water must be maintained to facilitate the installation and running of these plants (Figure 9).

In the case of the Region of Murcia, to resolve the hydroeconomic model, which presents a structural deficit of more than 300 hm³/ year, in 2024, the department (MITECO) was in the process of commissioning one of the largest photovoltaic plants in Spain, covering an area of more than five thousand hectares (5321 ha) in the south-west of the Sierra de Mojantes, in the district of Caravaca. It will be a private sector photovoltaic solar plant, associated with a desalination plant (IDAM La Campana-Escombreras, with a production capacity of up to 600 hm³/ year), in order to make the Region of Murcia self-sufficient in its own water resources, and to halt the overexploitation of aquifers (which, according to the European Union, must end from 2027).

The Region of Murcia (Spain) produces more energy than it consumes: in 2022, it produced 11,624 GW and consumed 9027 GW. The participation in Spanish energy production exceeds its territorial significance, accounting for only 2.23% of the total land area in Spain and 3.24% of its total population, while producing 4.21% of the total energy generated in the country (276,320 GW). Its most significant share is in renewable energies, especially in photovoltaic solar energy, accounting for 7.54% of Spanish production, which was 27,908 GW.

In the case of the Region of Murcia, which has more than 3400 h of sunshine per year, the production of 2104 GW from solar photovoltaic plants accounted for 18.10% of the total regional energy production, covering 10% of regional consumption. The regional potential for the development of photovoltaic solar energy points to a greater increase in its participation in the regional mix of production and consumption. This evolution will result in an increase in the area occupied by panels and changes in the traditional landscape, which are already visible when they are installed near communication routes.

In the Region of Murcia, there has been a fevered drive to establish photovoltaic solar energy projects, in production and in self-consumption. At the end of 2023, the region had 175 projects in progress, with an approved Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and the state had 22 solar photovoltaic projects, each with more than 50 MW of initial installed power. The average investment or cost is about 800,000 euros per MW. Twenty Irrigation Associations were awarded subsidies from the Rural Development Programme and NextGeneration EU funds for energy efficiency and renewable energies.

The establishment of solar photovoltaic projects in the Region of Murcia has led to changes in land use and is generating a new landscape on former rain-fed herbaceous and woody crop lands (60%), scrubland, esparto fields and waste ground (30%), and even on irrigated horticultural land, and citrus and non-citrus orchards (10%). Such projects seek easy access to major roads and the power grid, and transform the landscape of the rural environment.

Private facilities, including those owned by Irrigation Associations both on land and on irrigation rafts, have never faced opposition nor will they be contested by society. The same cannot be said of large facilities usually owned and run by energy companies. These are the ones that are sparking opinions highlighting the problems of these facilities in the different territories: the occupation of fertile lands with important significance in the economy of these spaces; the question of what and who takes care of the material of the facilities at the end of their useful life; the landscape impact generated by facilities installed close to major roads and transport links as they seek locations closest to the receiving plants; the “noise disturbance” caused to nearby population centers; the increase in runoff when, in areas with many hours of sunshine and a long dry season, the atmospheric dust formed by very dry soil and low plant cover favors the cementing of these farms and therefore, the low permeability of the soil; and even pressures on the owners of farmland to sign over their land for such installations. These are the disadvantages argued by individuals, bodies, and associations of various orientations.

The department is clearly listening to them, as evidenced by the fact that land lease contracts already specify the responsibility for the material at the end of the contract, and the fact that the department already mentions respect for fertile irrigated lands, even denying permission to occupy them where it is contested by society. It is also committed to respecting landscape, requiring developers to prepare a plan that offsets the negative effects on the landscape in the vicinity of the Mar Menor, and even mentioning the obligation to safeguard natural water channels and maintain natural vegetation that serves as a screen for the facilities.

The frequent news coverage in the regional newspaper La Verdad highlights the importance of these facilities in the socioeconomic context, reporting on new installation requests and the concerns voiced around possible new photovoltaic solar farms.

Land suitability maps should indicate the areas with the lowest impact to locate facilities and connection networks if the 2030 EU target of 32% renewable energy consumption is to be achieved. Nationwide, around one-quarter of the country (23.12%) presents low levels of sensitivity for solar photovoltaic installation projects, mostly in rural areas.

The current challenge in the Region of Murcia relates to accessibility with an increase in the capacity of networks and connection points and the development of land suitability maps for the orderly implementation of photovoltaic solar energy facilities.

The success of a photovoltaic solar energy project lies not only in the energy produced or the investment attracted, but also in its spatial and social integration and its ability to contribute to local development. To achieve this, it is essential to adopt good territorial planning strategies through suitability maps, avoiding areas with high agricultural, natural, or cultural value. Real and early citizen participation must be ensured, engaging neighbors and local stakeholders from the beginning. Landscape protection and proper land stewardship require long-term monitoring of environmental and social impacts. Local communities should directly benefit from such projects through returns invested in public services, training, and infrastructure. Moreover, participatory and integrated approaches—including smaller-scale energy production, agrivoltaics, floating systems, and energy communities—can enhance acceptance. Ultimately, a more inclusive regional energy strategy should be sought that balances energy needs with agricultural, cultural, and landscape specificities.

5. Conclusions

The development of photovoltaics is leading to social and landscape changes in the south-east of Spain. From a social perspective, there is a shift from struggling farmers (especially due to the low economic profitability of dryland farming) to rentiers who pay taxes for twenty-five years. Regarding land-use changes, there is a decrease in dryland farming, forested areas, and even irrigated farmland, which are being replaced by photovoltaic panel areas. At the current rate—expected to increase at least until 2030 to meet the European Union’s renewable energy targets—more than 300 km² of land in the Region of Murcia (11,313 km²) will undergo these transformations. That means over 30,000 hectares (2.65% of the regional territory) will shift from rural to industrial land use. This research concludes that these social and landscape changes in the south-east of Spain will result in more than 5% of its surface being occupied by photovoltaic panels by 2030.

The energy transition toward renewable sources has become one of the great challenges of the 21st century. It not only responds to the urgency of curbing climate change and meeting international commitments to reduce emissions, but also requires rethinking how we use the land and what type of development we want. In this process, the landscape associated with renewable energies has gained increasing relevance. It concerns how these infrastructures are—or are not—integrated into the environment and the lives of those who inhabit them. These new emerging landscapes, such as helioscapes, are inhabited spaces full of tensions, meanings, and opportunities. They can pose risks if implemented without care, and must therefore be developed with respect, dialogues, and a vision that centers not only the transformation of the energy matrix, but also the people and landscapes it affects.