News

The construction of the Núñez de Balbao photovoltaic project that Iberdrola is developing in Extremadura has injected life into the local industrial fabric and created local jobs, with purchases worth €227M from some 30 suppliers.

The contractual requirements of its construction have contributed to bolstering the project’s local character, recruiting first from among local workers.

The companies supplying products and services involved in its execution have participated in its construction, supply of photovoltaic modules, the fixed structure, inverters, transformers, and the civil works and engineering of the electrical lines and substation.

In Núñez de Balbao recruiting prioritised local workers, up to 70% of the 1,200 recorded at peak times, from a total of 25 companies that participated in executing the civil works, cement manufacturing, ramming tests, topography and technical office, transport and forestry work.

The Núñez de Balboa project is the biggest photovoltaic plant in Europe under construction (500 MW). It is scheduled to come on stream in the first quarter of 2020. At present, the entire foundation of the structure has been laid and more than 90% of its 1,430,000 photovoltaic panels have been assembled.

The initiative has been promoted with the collaboration of Ecoenergías del Guadiana, in the form of a joint co-development fully respectful of the environment and land-use planning.

The plant will generate enough clean energy to meet the needs of 250,000 people, more than the combined populations of the region's largest cities, Cáceres and Badajoz. It will avoid the emission of 215,000 metric tons of CO₂ each year, strengthening Iberdrola's commitment to protecting the environment and mitigating global warming.

More than 1,800 renewable MW under construction or in the pipeline

In Extremadura, Iberdrola is building the Núñez de Balboa plant and has in the pipeline the photovoltaic plants Francisco Pizarro (590 MW), located in Torrecillas de la Tiesa, Ceclavín (328 MW) in Alcántara, and Arenales (150 MW) in Cáceres, as well as Campo Arañuelo I, II and III (150 MW) in the Almaraz administrative district, and two plants in Cedillo (100 MW).

This brings the company's photovoltaic megawatts under construction or in the pipeline in the region to 1,800, making Extremadura the focus of Iberdrola's renewable strategy in Spain.

Iberdrola plans for Campo Arañuelo (Arañuelo I, II, and III with 150 MW) to be the next photovoltaic project to be started. It includes a system that uses an innovative battery for power storage.

Plan to relaunch clean energy in Spain 

Iberdrola's plan to invest in renewable energies in Spain includes the installation of 3,000 new MW by 2022. By 2030, company forecasts point to the installation of 10,000 new MW. These actions will enable jobs to be created for 20,000 people.

In Spain, Iberdrola is the leader in renewable energies, with an installed capacity of 15,828 MW (over 30,300 MW worldwide), making its generation fleet one of the cleanest in the energy sector.

Iberdrola's commitment to a decarbonised economic model has led it to earmark 34 billion euros for global investments between now and 2022 in renewable energies, smart and robust distribution networks, and storage technologies, all on top of the 100 billion it has already invested since 2001.