Wind giant Iberdrola looks to the sun

• 5 years ago (2019-03-22)
• David Flin

Europe 1061 Solar 243

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The Spanish wind turbine producer Iberdrola made the first step into solar power, with the laying of the inaugural solar panel in its first photovoltaic plant in Spain. When complete, the plant will have a capacity of 500 MW, which, according to data from HIS Markit, makes it the largest solar plant under construction in Europe.

Iberdrola currently makes over 40 per cent of its energy from renewables, but did not get involved in the solar power installation boom in Spain a decade ago. Xabier Viteri, head of Iberdrola’s renewables business, said that the cost to build a plant is now a tenth of what it was then. “This energy is now very competitive, and in some cases it can reduce the cost of generation.” In 2018, Iberdrola sold a stake in a solar thermal plant in south-central Spain, leaving it with no solar capacity in its home country.

The new plant, named Nunez de Balboa, is part of a broader drive by Iberdrola to make more use of solar power. Viteri said: “We plan to do something more in the USA, something more in Mexico, and we also hope to be able to start something soon in Brazil.” He said that solar will account for just over a third of the new renewable capacity the company plans to build globally by 2022, with almost all the new facilities being in Spain.

Currently, Spain has a total of around 7 GW of solar capacity, compared with around 46 GW in Germany.