Plenitude has started the construction work on a 220MW solar plant in Villarino de los Aires in Salamanca, Spain, that will be among the largest in Castilla y León.
The cornerstone laying ceremony was attended by representatives of the Regional Government of Castilla y León, the City Council and the company.
The park will cover an area of around 286 hectares and will be connected to the national transmission grid at the Villarino de los Aires junction via a 3.2km underground medium-voltage line.
The facility will have 365,300 bifacial modules and it is estimated that it will produce over 400,000 MWh of electricity per year.
The plant will be completed by 2025 with the support of Sterling & Wilson, together with other relevant local firms.
In addition, to protect the territory some measures have been implemented such as, for example, the conservation and relocation of rural huts between the modules, the conservation of natural water channels crossing the area, and the provision of permeable hunting fence surrounding the precinct.
It has also involved active coordination with neighbouring farmers to ensure the compatibility of the project with the land-use.
Mariangiola Mollicone, head of Western Europe renewables and managing director of Plenitude in Spain, said: “The Villarino project is a virtuous example of integration with the territory.
“Being here today, in the presence of all the actors involved, is tangible proof of our willingness to continue this collaborative approach in the coming years, in line with our business and growth strategy in the country.”
With the start of works in Villarino, Plenitude strengthens its presence in Castilla y León, where it already has a wind plant with an installed capacity of around 13MW.
Plenitude currently operates more than 440MW of installed capacity of photovoltaic and wind energy in Spain with plants located, in addition to Castilla y León, also in Galicia, La Rioja, Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia and projects currently under construction totalling around 1GW in Andalusia (Seville and Granada), Castilla y León (Salamanca) and Extremadura (Badajoz).
In parallel, the company is working on more than 2GW capacity with new projects at different stages of development.