- Spanish utility group said it has started commissioning works on two solar farms in western Spain.
- The plants together have around 250,000 solar panels
Spanish utility group Iberdrola SA said it has started commissioning works to bring online two solar farms totalling 100 MW in Extremadura, western Spain.
Located in the town of Cedillo, the Majada Alta and San Antonio plants have around 250,000 solar panels, which will generate some 156 GWh of power per year, Iberdrola said.
The solar farms are hooked to a compacted substation of only 300 square metres (3,229 sq ft) instead of the 10,000 square metres that these structures usually occupy. This was done to reduce the project’s environmental impact given the substation’s proximity to a natural park between Spain and Portugal, Iberdrola explained.
The utility said it solved the challenge by inserting the substation in containers placed on a six-metre deep structure through which all the cables that distribute the power to the grid are connected.
The substation evacuates power generated by the two new solar farms and a nearby hydroelectric station and will also serve a future 375-MW solar PV plant in the area.