FEDA moves ahead with Pic del Maià wind park and Spain interconnection amid €180m investment plan

FEDA says its retail tariffs remain about 40% below those in neighbouring countries and expects to close 2025 with profit roughly €28 million, a level similar to 2024. December figures are not final, and management places a 5–10% margin of uncertainty around the estimate. The company also reports sufficient cash reserves to finance new projects and to withstand potential crises, and says it has regained financial resilience after the energy shock years.

The Pic del Maià wind park is presented as a central measure to raise domestic generation toward FEDA’s 2030 target of roughly 30–33% of national demand. The planned installation would have about 40 MW of capacity and is expected to supply roughly 6–8% of current consumption (variously reported around 7–8%), equivalent to the annual use of some 15,000 households. Construction is planned to be carried out over two high‑mountain summers—about eight months in total, one season for civil works and another for turbine installation and commissioning—because winter conditions prevent work.

Permits and land agreements for the Maià project are not finalised and FEDA has not yet secured the required land use, so no firm start date can be set. While a 2027 completion target remains “if nothing goes wrong,” company officials acknowledge the schedule may slip. FEDA emphasises that projects in protected natural areas require public consultation and agreement with communes and local stakeholders. The company says it is negotiating with local authorities and environmental groups, is willing to adjust turbine siting and move lines, and plans mitigation measures such as bird‑protection radar, but that reaching consensus will take time.

FEDA also identifies enlargement of the Ospitalet hydroelectric plant as a key step to reduce external dependence; that project must still complete a technical closure phase. National annual electricity consumption is reported at about 625,000 MWh. FEDA reiterates its aim that 100% of imported electricity be renewable, with imports split roughly one third from France and one third from Spain.

On cross‑border capacity, FEDA is advancing a permanent 220 kV interconnection with Spain: a double‑circuit link plus substation upgrades described as the culmination of a 15‑year effort to increase exchange capacity. Officials expect the contract to be signed within months and preparatory works—including an environmental and technical review (ETR) at the Runer river—to begin in the first quarter of next year.

Regarding photovoltaics, FEDA says it currently lacks land rights to develop a large ground‑mounted solar park but will promote distributed generation. The company plans incentives for rooftop installations and no general nationwide limits, while noting some parish councils maintain moratoria whose legal bases are unclear. Management downplays the likelihood that environmental complaints will block deployment and reiterates readiness to discuss local adjustments.

Other infrastructure adaptations include upgrades to cold‑storage capacity in Escaldes, incorporation of biomass at the Soldeu plant, consolidation of FEDA Ecoterm networks, and digitalisation of the low‑voltage grid with smart meters. FEDA has signalled major investment plans to meet expected demand growth—reports indicate investment needs of up to around €180 million over the next six to seven years—and says the network can accommodate population increases up to about 100,000 inhabitants without major difficulty.

FEDA stresses that timelines and final costs for these projects remain subject to regulatory approvals, permitting processes, supply‑chain constraints and weather conditions, and that democratic consultation processes mean some timetables are provisional.