Spanish solar power developer Solaria has secured the administrative construction permit for the 595MW Garoña photovoltaic (PV) project in Spain.
The authorisation is expected to help Solaria in achieving its goal of achieving 3GW by the end of this year.
According to the company, the Garoña PV project will serve as an example of energy transition, by replacing the Santa María de Garoña nuclear power plant. Built in the Burgos province, the 466MW mothballed nuclear power station had completed its useful life.
The Santa María de Garoña nuclear power plant will now be replaced with a green, non-polluting, and much cheaper energy facility, said Solaria.
Solaria general manager Darío López said: “Obtaining the Administrative Construction Authorisation is great news for us, for the province of Burgos and for society as a whole. This project is a clear example of energy transition and, in addition, it will have a revitalising effect on the economy of the Bureba region.
The Garoña PV project is expected to generate enough electricity to meet the annual consumption needs of Burgos, by covering 300,000 homes.
It will also create roughly 2,400 jobs during its peak construction stage. Besides, the solar PV plant will provide scope for indirect employment, while having a useful life of 30 years.
Last September, Solaria announced plans to invest €2.6bn over the next three years.
At the time of the announcement, the company had 3.08GW in operation and under construction. In Italy, the company has a project portfolio of 2.5GW.
The company’s investment plans are backed by a €1.7bn framework agreement it had signed with the European Investment Bank (EIB) in September 2023 to fund a portfolio of 5.6GW of solar power projects in Spain, particularly in Italy and Portugal.
It also inked the first loan under the umbrella of this framework financing with the EIB and Banco Santander for a total of €515m towards the construction of 24 solar PV facilities in Spain with a combined installed capacity of 1.08GW.
