Plans by the multinational company Clarios to build a solar self-consumption plant for its battery factory in Guardamar del Segura will now undergo a full environmental impact assessment. The Valencian regional government has ruled that the project could have significant effects on the environment, mainly due to the high flood risk affecting the proposed site.

The plant, promoted by Ekhi Energy fourteen, would cover almost ten hectares of traditional farmland near the N three three two road. It is designed to generate up to six point three eight megawatts of solar power to supply Clarios Iberia’s nearby factory. However, the land is classified as level five flood risk, linked to extreme flooding events such as the September two thousand and nineteen storms.

According to the regional authority, the location is also subject to the Patricova flood risk plan, which explicitly bans photovoltaic energy production in such areas. Officials warn that solar panels and perimeter fencing could worsen flooding by acting as a barrier to water flow. The environmental group Amigos de los Humedales del Sur de Alicante has confirmed it will submit objections.

Clarios has operated its Guardamar plant since nineteen seventy six and employs around three hundred people. Critics note the company could instead build the solar installation within its existing industrial site, which is not subject to the same environmental restrictions.