Iberdrola plans to build Europe’s largest photovoltaic plant in Extremadura, Spain
Iberdrola announced that is is moving forward with its renewables strategy with the Francisco Pizarro project which, with 590 MW and an investment totalling more than €300 million, will become Europe’s largest photovoltaic solar plant.
Francisco Pizarro, which is now being processed by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, will occupy a 1,300-hectare site falling within Caceres’ municipal areas of Torrecillas de la Tiesa and Aldeacentenera. During the construction phase and until the plant is commissioned in 2022, up to 1,000 people will be employed on the site.
It will be larger than the Núñez de Balboa photovoltaic plant that Iberdrola is building in Usagre (Badajoz, Extremadura) which, with 500 MW, is so far the biggest in Europe. The project will generate enough clean energy to supply 375,000 people every year, more than the total population of the cities of Cáceres and Badajoz in Extremadura; and will prevent the emission of 245,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year, evidence of the value of this technology to protect the environment and mitigate climate change.
More than 2,000 MW under construction and processing
With the addition of Francisco Pizarro, Iberdrola is now building or processing more than 2,000 MW in Spain, accounting for 70% of investments in the company’s plan for 2022, with a target of 3,000 MW in the country.The remaining renewable projects under development in Spain are, so far, the following:
- In Cáceres, Extremadura, the Ceclavín (328 MW), Arenales (150 MW) and Campo Arañuelo I and II photovoltaic plants (50 MW each) are undergoing administrative processing.
- In Andalusia, Iberdrola is developing the 50 MW Andévalo photovoltaic project, located within the largest wind farm in Continental Europe, promoted and managed by Iberdrola.
- The Romeral 50 MW photovoltaic project will be built in Cuenca;
- In Burgos, Iberdrola has wind farms with installed capacity of 73 MW under administrative processing (Herrera’s wind farm complex and La Lora’s one).
In Spain, Iberdrola has more than 700 MW renewables under construction (the Núnez de Balboa photovoltaic plant and wind projects in three regions), expected to go into service between 2019 and 2020. All these renewable plants will become the flagship for Spain’s leadership in Extremadura, Spain and the European Union in the transition to a more sustainable energy system.
Plan to relaunch clean energy in Spain
Iberdrola is the biggest producer of wind energy in Spain, with installed power of 5,770 MW, while its total installed renewable capacity, including both wind and hydroelectric, is 15,790 MW. The company has a total of almost 30,000 MW installed capacity around the world.The activities underway are part of the clean energies relaunch plan designed by Iberdrola in Spain, entailing an investment of 8 billion euros between 2018 and 2022 and commissioning 10,000 new MW until 2030.The plan will create jobs for 20,000 people, almost ten times the number working in traditional generation in the company.These projects form part of the global investments that Iberdrola will make between 2018 and 2022, totalling 34 billion euros.
Source: Press Release by Iberdrola. Photo credit: Iberdrola’s Núñez de Balboa solar project now under development also in Extremadura, Spain. © Iberdrola.
