Iberdrola consolidates its position as the leading promoter of photovoltaic solar energy, one of the most effective technologies in the fight against climate change. The company’s commitment to the development of this renewable source will allow it to add 1,400 new solar megawatts (MW) in Spain in the coming months.

The company is currently running 12 photovoltaic projectswith a combined installed capacity of 550 MW, half of which is located in Extremadura, where Iberdrola is building the Almaraz I and II power plants (80 MW), which will be connected to the grid this year, and the Tagus complex in Alcántara, comprising four power plants with a total capacity of 200 MW.

The company is also building six other facilities in Castile and León and Andalusia using this technology, totaling 271 MW. These are the Villarino plant (50 MW) in Salamanca; the Guillena project (144 MW) in Seville; Cespedera (27 MW) in Cadiz; and Virgen de Aremos III (50 MW) in Palencia.

In addition, Iberdrola plans to begin construction this year on six more projects that will provide 873 new MW of solar energy in four autonomous communities: Ciudad Rodrigo (318 MW) in Salamanca; Fuentes (50 MW), Valbuena (50 MW) and Manantiales (30 MW) in Guadalajara; Peñarrubia (50 MW) in Murcia; and Cedillo (375 MW) in Cáceres.

125% more solar production until June

Iberdrola ended the first half with more than 2,200 MW of photovoltaic capacity installed in Spain800 MW more than the same period last year, an increase of more than 55% over the period.

The new capacity has enabled the company to increase its solar production in the country by 125% until June, at 1,067 GWh. This is a quantity that would have required the production of 184 million cubic meters of gas by a combined cycle.

The boost in Spain has enabled the group to increase its global installed capacity in this technology by 56% – which today stands at 3,448 MW – and to reach a total production of 1,870 GWh (the same quantity of energy as that generated by more than 320 million cubic meters of gas).

These figures confirm the company’s firm commitment to this renewable, inexhaustible and non-polluting source of energy, capable of adapting to natural cycles and climatic conditions, which offers the advantage of allowing production in both commercial-scale factories and small self-consumption facilities.

Among the projects commissioned so far this year is the “Francisco Pizarro” project which, with 590 MW of power, is the largest photovoltaic plant in Europe and the largest plant of this type of the Iberdrola group in the world. Made up of 1.5 million photovoltaic modules, it will generate enough clean energy to supply more than 334,000 homes and will prevent the emission of 140,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere per year..

It is also worth mentioning the Romeral and Olmedilla factories in Cuenca, each with 50 MW, which will produce clean energy for a population equivalent to over 24,500 homes/year and nearly 30,000 homes/year, respectively. In addition to these, Iberdrola has also started production of 100 MW at the Puertollano photovoltaic plant in Ciudad Real, where Iberdrola has the largest green hydrogen plant for industrial use in Europe, and the Revilla-Vallejera plant in Burgos, the first photovoltaic project promoted and developed by the company from Castilla y León, with 50 MW of power.

The Iberdrola Group began its commitment to renewable energy more than two decades ago as a fundamental pillar on which to build its clean, reliable and smart business model. Thanks to this vision, the company is today a world leader in renewable energies, with 38,000 MW of renewable capacity installed worldwide – 19,370 MW in Spain – at the end of the first half of 2022, and is a leader in the energy transition towards a low-emission economy.

This commitment is reflected in its investment plan which aims to double its renewable capacity to 60,000 MW by 2025, to reach 95,000 MW by 2030.. This solid growth is confirmed by the more than 10,800 MW of renewable capacity under construction at the end of the first half of 2022.