Enel Green Power España starts construction of its largest solar farm in Spain
Endesa’s renewable company Enel Green Power España, has begun the construction of the 84.7 MW Totana solar photovoltaic facility, representing the company’s largest solar plant in Spain. The overall investment in the construction of the facility amounts to approximately 59 million euros.
“With the Totana solar PV project, the Group confirms its commitment to further strengthening Spain’s generation mix, bringing the country closer to its renewable goals,” said Antonio Cammisecra, Enel’s Head of Global Renewable Energy business line, Enel Green Power. “Our operations in Spain have allowed us to establish a significant presence in this important and competitive market, where we will continue to deploy our sustainable leadership.”
The Totana facility, located in the Region of Murcia, is scheduled to start operation in the third quarter of 2019. Once fully operational the solar photovoltaic facility, composed of 248,000 photovoltaic modules, will be able to generate around 150 GWh per year, avoiding the annual emission of around 105,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Totana is the first of the seven solar projects, for a total capacity of 339 MW, which were awarded to Enel Green Power España during the Spanish government’s third renewable tender held in July 2017.
Totana will be EGP’s first site to use collaborative automation systems and robotics to support the construction team while building some sections of the facility, with benefits in terms of works’ safety and quality, such as increased accuracy and speed in carrying out on-site activities. The project is part of EGP’s programme aimed at the digitalisation and automation of Engineering and Construction (E&C) activities.
The construction of the project will be based on Enel Green Power’s “Sustainable Construction Site” model, incorporating the use of renewable power during construction through a photovoltaic system that will meet the power needs of the construction site, as well as implementing initiatives to involve the local population in the project’s construction.
Out of the seven projects awarded to Enel Green Power España in last year’s tender, the Totana solar facility is the only one located in the Region of Murcia, while the other six projects will be located in Extremadura (three in the province of Cáceres, in the municipality of Logrosán and three others in the province of Badajoz, in the municipalities of Talarrubias and Casas de Don Pedro). The tender was aimed at helping the country achieve its target to cover 20% of energy consumption with renewable energy by 2020.
EGPE is building 339 MW of solar and 540 MW of wind facilities that were awarded to the company in Spain’s last two tenders, involving a total investment of more than 800 million euros by 2020. The overall 879 MW of solar and wind projects, once completed, will increase the power of EGPE’s current portfolio by 52.4%.