Spanish energy giant Iberdrola has submitted a proposal to build a 590MW solar plant in Extremadura, Spain, with the Ministry for the Ecological Transition.
The estimated cost of the Francisco Pizarro solar plant is €300m (£266m) and if approved by the Ministry, the solar plant will be located on 1,300-hectare site, within Caceres’ municipal areas of Torrecillas de la Tiesa and Aldeacentenera.
With a planned commissioning in 2022, the construction phase of this project is expected to create jobs for nearly 1,000 people.
The Francisco Pizarro solar plant is estimated to generate enough clean energy to be supplied to 375,000 people annually, which is more than the total population of the cities of Cáceres and Badajoz. And, will prevent 245,000 tons of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere.
The company had also committed to install another 2GW of wind and solar in Extremadura by 2022. The announcement was made this March and the company also stated that projects such as Ceclavín, Arenales and Campo Arañuelo I and II solar plants are in advanced stages of development.
These activities are part of the company’s strategy to develop clean energy projects in the country by installing an additional 10GW, while creating 20,000 jobs until 2030.
The project is part of Iberdrola’s £30bn global investments by 2022
The Francisco Pizarro solar plant is part Iberdrola’s commitment to make $34bn (£30bn) global investment between 2018 and 2022.
In Spain, the company plans to invest €8bn (£7.1bn) over the period, of which nearly €4.2bn (£3.8bn) will be allocated to renewables.
Currently, the company has more than 700MW renewables under construction, which are expected to go into service between 2019 and 2020.
Iberdrola, in a statement, said: “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.”
