Largest PV plant in Europe completed within a year

Iberdrola has completed the construction of the Núñez de Balboa project, the largest PV project in Europe in record time, in one year. The project recently obtained its commissioning permit from the Ministry for Ecological Transition. Red Eléctrica de España (REE), the national grid, has started energization tests. Based on these processes, the plant is forecast to start operations in the first quarter of 2020.

Núñez de Balboa has an installed capacity of 500 megawatts (MW) and an investment of nearly EUR 300 million (US$ 335 million) . It extends over an area of some 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) straddling the municipalities of Usagre, Hinojosa del Valle and Bienvenida in the province of Badajoz. The plant features 1,430,000 solar panels, 115 inverters, and two substations. 

Núñez de Balboa will generate clean energy to supply the needs of 250,000 people a year - equivalent to the populations of Cáceres and Badajoz combined - and will avoid the emission of 215,000 metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere per year.

For the development of the project, Iberdrola received green financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), Spain's state financial agency.

With long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in place, the 500 MW project will supply clean energy to major clients committed to sustainable consumption in the banking, telecommunications and retail sectors.