Source: list23.com
By 2025, wind power giant Iberdrola and solar project developer Prosolia Energy will jointly invest 850 million euros ($996 million) in five solar parks in Iberia, including one of Europe's largest power plants in Portugal, according to ProSoliA.
By 2025, Prosolia Energy's executive board member Pedro Pestana Aguiar stated that the firms' goal is to create a total new capacity of 1.5 gigawatts (GW) in four photovoltaic parks in Spain and if he develops southeastern Portugal'd'une mega-plant near the country'' optimum installed capacity, comparable to the nation'y'll have capacity.
Solar photovoltaic technology captures sunlight and transforms it into electrical energy.
An Iberdrola (IBE.MC) spokesperson confirmed the firm had signed a development agreement with Prosolia, but declined to elaborate.
"With this agreement, Iberdrola strengthens its growth strategy in Portugal, and Prosolia Energy advances in its goal of becoming a reference player in Europe's energy transition," Pestana Aguiar said.
By 2030, Iberdrola plans to spend 150 billion euros worldwide on tripling its renewable capacity, reaching a total of 60 GW in 2025, as much as 25 g of which will be in Spain.
Pestana Aguiar stated that the alliance "entails the possibility of collaboration between the two firms in new future projects"
He added that Prosolia's solar park in Santiago do Cacem will be 50 percent of the facility, which is 200 kilometers south of Lisbon, will have a capacity of over 1.14 GW.
Advances in solar technology, regulatory changes, and a gathering drive to reduce carbon emissions have aided stoke rapid growth in residential solar installations in Spain in recent years, coaxing back investors after post-recession subsidy cuts put paid to significant additions for several years.
In 2020, Portugal's smallest neighbour had just over 1 GW installed.
Permitting and environmental studies for the Portuguese park, which will not be eligible for any subsidies or feed-in tariffs, have already begun, Pestana Aguiar said.
Prosolia Energy will take over the majority of the capital of four parks in Spain, but their operational management will be on a level with Iberdrola, he added.
In Portugal, Iberdrola has about 1.5 GW of renewable capacity, with 1.2 MW of hydroelectric power and only 255 megawatts (MW) photovoltaic capacity.
Prosolia has partnered with Paris-based private equity firm Omnes Capital to finance the construction and operation of large scale renewable projects in Europe with a development portfolio exceeding 2 GW.
Pestana Aguiar said that the park in Santiago do Cacem may also build a 257 MW lithium ion battery park to store energy, but "it is still premature" to determine how much additional capital expenditure this might require.
Developers around the world are working on battery technology to solve the big problem of solar energy: storing it to be used when the sun doesn't shine, but demand is high.
