Fernando Pessoa photovoltaic power plant

 The Fernando Pessoa solar power plant is set to be built in Portugal, becoming Europe’s largest solar power project and a model of strict compliance with all environmental standards. It will be located in the municipality of Santiago de Cacém, near Sines—a logistics hub in southern Europe—and will have Prosolia Energy as its partner. 

The plant, named Fernando Pessoa in honour of the renowned Portuguese poet, will supply clean, affordable and locally generated energy to meet the annual needs of millions of households. The facility, for which a grid connection has already been contracted with the Portuguese operator REN, will prevent the consumption of millions of cubic metres of gas each year – gas that would have been required to produce the same amount of energy in a combined cycle plant.

The land for the project has already been secured, and construction will create thousands of jobs, mostly filled by local workers. The project will therefore include a Socio-Economic Action Programme featuring measures such as vocational training in the energy sector and support for the tourism industry, as well as supplying solar energy to nearby communities. 

An example of respect for environmental heritage

The plant will be an example of new renewable developments coexisting with environmental heritage and local communities. The land will be used by local shepherds as pasture for local sheep and beehives will be introduced, which will help to improve ecosystem stability and boost crop yields in the surrounding farmland. In addition, planting will be carried out in the area surrounding the facility to replace the eucalyptus trees with indigenous trees.

Iberdrola, world leader in renewable energies

At Iberdrola, we committed to renewable energy more than two decades ago as a fundamental pillar on which to build our safe, clean and competitive business model. Thanks to this vision, we are currently world leaders in renewables, reaching 46,741 MW of clean energy in operation by the end of the first quarter of 2026.

This commitment is reflected in the €21 billion that our Strategic Plan 2025-2028 allocates to Renewables and Customers, with 38% dedicated to offshore wind, 24% to onshore wind, 10% to solar photovoltaic and another 10% to energy storage.