Dunas Clean Energy I FCR has connected the Calera photovoltaic solar plant (pictured) in the province of Toledo to the grid.
The 19.77MWp project first asset owned by the fund to enter the operation phase and start pouring energy into the grid.
The plant, located in the municipality of Novés and consisting of 34,720 solar panels, began construction at the end of 2022 by GES (Global Energy Services Siemsa).
GES, a company belonging to the CL Industrial Group, has carried out the design and engineering of the plant, the construction of the civil and electrical works, supplies of equipment and materials, commissioning and all the tests for its correct operation.
The asset has been financed with a “unitranche” structure with Kobus Asset Finance I guaranteed by the European Investment Fund (EIF).
The facility will produce approximately 42,000 MWh/year, equivalent to the annual consumption of nearly 13,000 homes in Spain and will prevent the emission of some 40,200 tonnes of CO2-eq in the same period.
As a compensatory environmental measure, contemplated in the plant’s Environmental Impact Statement, a restoration and planting project has been carried out on the Cañada Real Segoviana, one of the great cattle trails of the peninsula.
With this restoration project, consisting of cleaning and reforestation with native species of approximately 23 hectares, the project partially compensates for its environmental impact.
The manager is also analysing the possible incorporation of batteries into the project, although it indicates that it is a market that still needs more developed regulation to make their installation viable.
Dunas Clean Energy I has a portfolio of photovoltaic projects close to 300MWp and expects to begin construction of three additional projects during the last quarter of 2024.
The Fund aims to have the entire portfolio of projects in the operation phase by 2026.
David Angulo, president of Dunas Capital, said: “We are excited to have achieved, after much effort and months of waiting, this great milestone for the first of the Fund’s plants.
“We continue to make good progress with the rest of the portfolio and are committed to the energy transition and renewable energies in our country. We are grateful for the trust of the fund’s participants in this first representative step.”