April 28th of this year began like any other day and, as it progressed, became a turning point in the history of our country, just as happened in 1987 with the explosion at the Sant Menat power plant.
Undoubtedly, the repercussions and impact of what occurred quickly spread to all sectors, with assumptions made about the causes of the event and proposed colorful solutions.
In particular, the Spanish renewable sector has experienced, in the short span of a month, several regulatory shifts with consequences that are, at least in the short term, unpredictable.
Thus, although Royal Decree-Law 7/2025 (RDL 7/2025: https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2025-12857) initially offered, among other measures, a valuable extension for meeting Milestone 5 of generation projects, its non-ratification by Congress disrupted the plans of many developers. These developers found themselves hindered by delays in the construction of generation power plants and/or evacuation infrastructure. The elimination of the possibility to request an extension for obtaining the operating authorization has removed the lifeline that many ongoing projects were relying on.
Faced with this situation, uncertainty has arisen in the sector—especially among developers—due to the diverse intermediate scenarios their projects might face and the relevance that the non-ratification might have on the viability of their administrative files.
To provide greater clarity in these “gray areas,” we will analyze the following possible situations:
- What happens to developers who did not request the application of the extension for Milestone 5 during the validity of RDL 7/2025?
- What happens to developers who, during the validity of RDL 7/2025, requested the extension of Milestone 5 and received a favorable resolution before its non-ratification?
- Finally, what happens to developers who, like the above, requested the extension of Milestone 5 during the validity of RDL 7/2025 but, unlike the others, have not yet received a resolution?
Let’s review each of these scenarios, along with the legally relevant assumptions to consider.
ADMINISTRATIVE MILESTONES & MILESTONE 5?
This article focuses exclusively on the effect that the non-ratification of RDL 7/2025 may have on compliance with the administrative milestones set forth in Royal Decree 23/2020 (RD 23/2020: https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2020-1651).
These milestones are legally mandatory and immutable deadlines—except for last-minute changes as has occasionally happened—that permit holders must meet to demonstrate actual progress in their generation projects and thereby maintain those permits.
Therefore, Milestone 5 is just one of several milestones designed by the legislator, although it is currently of particular relevance due to the proximity of its due date, and thus the potential expiration of access and connection permits for developers who fail to meet it.
EVOLUTION OF LEGAL PROVISIONS RELATED TO MILESTONE 5
Initially, Milestone 5 required that facilities obtain their operating authorization and begin injecting energy into the grid within a maximum of 60 months from the date they obtained their access and connection permits.
However, RDL 7/2025 established an exceptionally beneficial extension regime for Milestone 5.
The non-ratification of RDL 7/2025 by Congress caused it to lose its validity from that point on (ex nunc effect), and therefore, the extension was also lost.
SCENARIOS DEVELOPERS MAY FACE
Given this legislative scenario, we can basically identify three main and possible situations:
SCENARIO 1.- Developers who did not request the extension.-
For those who did not submit the request within the period set by RDL 7/2025, the opportunity has been lost.
Thus, since the regulation has expired:
- The automatic extension can no longer be requested.
- Milestone 5 must be met within the period established prior to RDL 7/2025.
- If compliance is not possible, only an extraordinary 6-month extension for force majeure may be requested.
SCENARIO 2.- Developers who requested the extension and obtained a favorable resolution.-
In this case, final decisions issued during the validity of RDL 7/2025 remain valid and enforceable, even though it has expired.
This has been repeatedly upheld by the Constitutional Court in various rulings (notably, STC 111/1983: https://www.congreso.es/constitucion/ficheros/sentencias/stc_111_1983.pdf). Therefore:
- The granted extension remains valid.
- The developer now has more time to meet Milestone 5.
- It is recommended to retain the resolution and send it to the grid operator that granted the access and connection permits to prevent disputes.
SCENARIO 3.- Developers who requested the extension but have not yet received a resolution.-
This is the most delicate case. Even though the request was submitted on time and correctly, since it was not resolved before the non-ratification, it can no longer rely on RDL 7/2025, as it is no longer in force.
The administration can no longer favorably resolve that request under a repealed regulation. Will the administration allow the period to lapse, resulting in implicit rejection through negative silence, or will it intervene and make a decision on the submitted request?
We must wait to see how different regional administrations and the Ministry for Ecological Transition proceed.
In the event of administrative silence or an unfavorable outcome, the affected developer’s options would be:
- Demonstrate that they will meet Milestone 5 within the standard deadline (60 months).
- Otherwise, assess whether a justified extension request can be made under the general regime.
It is clear that the administration must follow firm, coherent, and consistent criteria—all under the umbrella of legal certainty, a fundamental principle of our legal system.
From all the above, a legislative mess with significant economic implications emerges.
Nevertheless, this does not prevent the Government from reintroducing the measures provided in RD 7/2025, or even introducing new ones through ordinary legislative channels, which could open a new window of opportunity for developers.
Jesús Valladares Ruíz
Rafael Cotán Cotán
Raluca Blajan Gavris
