Neves-Corvo solar park works set to resume after court suspension

Neves-Corvo solar park works set to resume

Construction of Portugal’s largest self-consumption solar park, halted since 20 March following legal proceedings brought earlier that month by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Beja Administrative and Tax Court, is expected to restart shortly. Somincor, owner of the Neves-Corvo mines in Castro Verde, will be able to continue building the project, which will have a capacity of 49 megawatts (MW), cover 55 hectares and generate 100 gigawatt-hours annually to supply one of Europe’s largest zinc and copper mines, in Alentejo.

Official sources at Somincor and EDP, which is responsible for the project alongside Greenvolt, confirmed this to Expresso. “The case has been unblocked, with the Beja Court finding the Public Prosecutor’s Office allegations for suspending the works to be unfounded. However, the action has not been withdrawn and is continuing through its normal course,” said a Somincor source. The company is owned by Swedish mining group Boliden. EDP, meanwhile, says it was told “of that decision to lift the suspension at the end of last week”, although it has no further information at present.

“We are trying to remobilise contractors and teams to resume the works, which should still take two to three weeks,” the same Somincor source said, stressing that the near two-month construction stoppage “has already had an impact and pushed back” the solar plant’s completion dates.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to Expresso that “it has not withdrawn the action, which is proceeding at the Beja Administrative and Tax Court”. “Following an application by the interested party [Somincor], the court decided to lift the suspension of the works, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office is studying legal ways to respond to this decision,” an official source added.

The photovoltaic solar plant was already partly built when work was interrupted because of the court case. The Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Office of the Prime Minister, Castro Verde Municipal Council and the State Legal Centre are defendants in the proceedings. Somincor – Sociedade Mineira de Neves-Corvo is also listed as an interested party, according to the case allocation published on the Citius online platform.

Expresso requested access from the Beja Administrative and Tax Court to the proceedings brought by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, but had received no response at the time of publication.

Legal challenge over planning and environmental rules

Sources contacted by Expresso when the works were suspended said the Public Prosecutor’s Office had sought to challenge the project on the grounds that it did not comply with the Municipal Master Plan. The case is disputed by the local authority.

On site, all heavy machinery and more than 100 workers have been idle for almost two months following notification from the court. When questioned by Expresso at the time, the Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that its “motivation is always the defence of legality and, in this specific case, it was found that planning rules and environmental rules had been breached”.

Castro Verde Municipal Council confirmed that it “received, on 18 March, by post, a notification from the Beja Administrative and Tax Court concerning pending administrative proceedings discussing the construction of the Self-Consumption Production Unit (UPAC), and was summoned to submit a defence”.

An official council source said the legal action had been examined by the municipality’s legal department and passed to its solicitor in preparation for a response. “Naturally, Castro Verde Municipal Council will submit its defence within the legal deadline,” the authority stressed.

Somincor was also summoned on 18 March “as an interested party” in the administrative case before the Beja Administrative and Tax Court. “Somincor will provide all clarifications deemed appropriate in these proceedings. The project followed every required and legally stipulated procedure,” the same source said.

For the mining company, “the solar park project is essential to the company’s sustainability and operations, as an organisation that generates employment and value for the communities of Baixo Alentejo in particular, and for the wider energy transition, as one of the largest mining-industry decarbonisation projects on a European scale”.

49 MW Neves-Corvo self-consumption solar park

EDP, one of the energy companies constructing the project, also said it “was informed that administrative proceedings are under way in relation to the solar energy project it is developing for Somincor, although it is not an interested party in this case”. The company led by Miguel Stilwell de Andrade said that “the entities involved were properly consulted throughout the various stages of the licensing process”.

At the end of February, Boliden Somincor, EDP and Greenvolt announced in a joint statement their partnership to install a UPAC beside the Neves-Corvo mine. “This distributed solar generation project will be the largest developed in Portugal, will reduce reliance on the electricity grid and increase the predictability of energy costs, as well as cutting Boliden Somincor’s carbon dioxide emissions by more than 41,000 tonnes annually,” the three companies said.

EDP Comercial and Greenvolt Next are building the project at Herdade de Neves da Graça in Castro Verde. The land is already owned by Boliden Somincor and forms part of its mining concession. Estimates had indicated that the project would be completed in the second half of 2026. The works include construction of the UPAC and expansion of the electrical substation serving the company.

“This project represents a major investment by Boliden Somincor. It will produce the equivalent of one third of our total annual consumption,” Gunnar Nyström, managing director of Boliden Somincor, said in the statement. The company is the largest employer in Baixo Alentejo.

Development began more than a year ago, with the design, licensing and engineering work carried out by Boliden Somincor, EDP and Greenvolt Next. Around 200 people will be employed throughout the process. Once operational, the solar plant will be managed by EDP for 12 years.