Iberdrola Commissions Arañuelo III Solar Power Plant in Spain
Strategic Research Institute
Published on :
21 Sep, 2021, 6:30 am
Iberdrola has commissioned the Arañuelo III photovoltaic plant (40 MW), which is the Spain's first photovoltaic project to feature a storage system, in this case a 3 MW battery with 9 MWh of storage capacity. In this way Iberdrola is progressing with its programme of innovative projects aimed at maximising energy use and continuing to promote the efficient integration of renewable energies into the electricity grid. Arañuelo III is the first renewable energy project to be commissioned in Spain that features batteries. The company is building or has secured 200 MW of battery power, some of which has already been installed, and has a 900 MW portfolio of battery storage capacity worldwide.
Arañuelo III, which in the municipality of Romangordo (Cáceres, Extremadura), is part of the Campo Arañuelo complex located in the Almaraz district, and consists of the Arañuelo I, II and III photovoltaic plants with a total capacity of 143 MW. Iberdrola has invested 80 million euros to develop this photovoltaic complex, which has helped to stimulate industry and job opportunities in the region: a total of 500 workers were involved in the construction phase and almost all the field work and civil engineering was contracted out to local companies.
The Campo Arañuelo is now producing clean energy to supply the equivalent of 65,000 homes a year and will prevent the release of 41,000 t CO2 into the atmosphere every year.
The commissioning of Arañuelo III comes in the wake of other renewable energy projects commissioned by the company in the last year, with an installed capacity of more than 1,500 MW. These include the Núñez de Balboa, Campo de Arañuelo I and II and Ceclavín projects in Extremadura. Iberdrola is currently building 1,700 MW of renewable capacity in Spain and has a portfolio of more than 17,000 MW on the Iberian Peninsula. In Spain, Iberdrola is the leader in the renewable energies sector with an installed capacity of more than 17,000 MW, which will increase to 25,000 MW with its investment plan to 2025.