Soltec unit hit with over EUR 387,600 fine in grid dispute in Spain

Spanish solar energy promoter Soltec Development SA and one of its project vehicles have been hit with a fine of over EUR 387,600 (USD 422,750) for breaching a rule regulating multiple applications for access to the power grid.

Spanish market and competition regulator CNMC said on Tuesday that Soltec’s unit Luminora Solar Doce abused its dominant position as the so-called “single node interlocutor” at the Fausita 400 kV plug-in point in southeastern Spain by refusing to include a competitor’s application for grid access.

The legal concept of the single node interlocutor was eliminated by the government at the end of 2020, but while it was in force, the regulatory framework required power generators interested in connecting their renewables to a specific point on the grid to designate one of them as the single node interlocutor.

The role entailed gathering access applications from all interested parties and submitting them to the grid operator, Red Electrica de Espana (REE). The single node interlocutor had a dominant position, as it had discretion to assign the order and coordinate the requests to REE, acting in good faith and guaranteeing equal and non-discriminatory access rights to all renewable energy installations.

As the CNMC explained, Luminora’s breach consisted of taking advantage of the interlocutor role at Fausita 400 kV to the benefit of its own facilities and failing to include a competitor’s request for grid access when it coordinated the applications to REE. Luminora even refused to do so when REE requested it, the regulator said.

As a result, the competitor had to file a dispute with the CNMC's supervisory board, and did not obtain access to Fausita until the dispute was resolved, more than a year after its initial application.

The CNMC fined Luminora EUR 387,672 for the breach of Article 2 of the Spanish Competition Act, and also found its parent company, Soltec Development, jointly and severally liable for the payment of the fine.

In June 2022, the CNMC slapped a EUR-4.9-million fine on renewables developer Enel Green Power for similar misconduct.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.091)

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