The BOIB publishes the favourable environmental impact statements for Calablava 4 and Llucmajor Solar, which total 143 hectares of rustic land, equivalent to more than 200 football fields.
Llucmajor remains the epicentre of the photovoltaic boom in Mallorca. Just two weeks after the Consell de Govern declared the Son Cànaves I and II and Na Forana parks strategic, the BOIB has given the green light for two new macro-projects: Calablava 4 and Llucmajor Solar. Together, they will cover 143 hectares of rustic land, an area that local residents are already comparing to more than 200 football fields.
Calablava 4: 103 hectares and 67,232 panels
The most ambitious project is Calablava 4, which will occupy 103.69 hectares, equivalent to about 145 football fields. There, 67,232 solar panels will be installed on rustic land, in an area that already has several similar plants. The installation is located in the Marina of Llucmajor, to the south of the municipality, where the concentration of renewable infrastructures is becoming notable.
According to the environmental impact statement, the project has surpassed the ordinary procedure by exceeding ten hectares. Among the reports received, the unfavourable report from the Ajuntament de Llucmajor stands out, which deemed the documentation on evacuation lines and the occupation of municipal public domain insufficient. Despite this, the General Directorate of Urban Harmonization and Environmental Assessment has issued a favourable opinion, albeit with conditions.
The measures include the obligation to preserve areas of greater agricultural value, reinforce vegetation barriers to mitigate landscape impact, and, in the case of future batteries, impose minimum distances from forest masses and homes. Specific studies on fire risk and landscape integration are also required.
Llucmajor Solar: 39.4 hectares and 70,602 panels
The second project, Llucmajor Solar, will occupy 39.4 hectares —about 55 football fields—and will house 70,602 panels. The plant has been resized compared to its initial design, which anticipated more than 52 hectares and 92,700 panels. The reduction, according to the promoter, responds to the need to adapt to environmental conditions and the claims made during the public information phase.
As with Calablava 4, the Ajuntament de Llucmajor issued an unfavourable report, demanding greater technical justification for the evacuation infrastructures. However, the Balearic Government has given conditional approval, subject to compliance with corrective measures. One of the most notable is the obligation to keep the area around a nesting site of the black kite free of panels, a protected species that inhabits the area.
Both projects will share evacuation infrastructures in some cases, which has raised doubts among municipal technicians about the capacity of the local electrical network. The Ajuntament has requested a joint study to assess the cumulative impact of all the planned plants in the Marina.
Four macro plants in the Marina of Llucmajor
With these two new projects, there are now four large photovoltaic plants recently promoted in the southern part of the municipality. The already authorized Son Cànaves I and II and Na Forana are now joined by Calablava 4 and Llucmajor Solar, all concentrated within a few kilometres. The total area occupied by these four installations exceeds 300 hectares, according to calculations by the local platform 'Salvem la Marina'.
Local residents have expressed their concern about the change in use of rustic land and the visual impact. "This is no longer sustainable development; it is an industrialisation of the countryside," says a spokesperson for the platform. The Ajuntament, for its part, insists that it does not oppose renewables but calls for territorial planning to avoid saturation.
Meanwhile, the Balearic Government defends that these projects are key to achieving the energy transition goals of the Balearic Islands, which foresee 70% renewable electricity by 2030. For the reader in Llucmajor, the question is: how many more football fields will we see covered in solar panels?
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