- Iberdrola employs more than half a thousand people during the construction of several photovoltaic plants
- The Arenales photovoltaic plan will have a capacity of 150 MW and the two plants in Almaraz will add 80 MW
- The construction and maintenance of the plant have created hundreds of jobs and will prevent the emission of thousands of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere
The province of Cáceres has become one of the epicentres of solar energy with the execution of several Iberdrola projects. The photovoltaic plant in Arenales will have an installed capacity of 150 MW, and the two plants in Almaraz will add a further 80 MW. The construction process alone has and will create more than 700 jobs.
As part of the global commitment to reducing emissions and fighting climate change, these plants will prevent the emission of more than 55,500 tonnes of CO2 into the environment every year.
The photovoltaic plant in Arenales goes live
The Arenales plant in Cáceres has been authorised to start the commissioning process. With an installed capacity of 150 MW, Arenales will supply renewable energy to almost 82,000 households. A total of 391,590 modules have been installed to prevent 38,500 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere. They are all installed on trackers to increase their energy production.
It was built in seven months and created 430 jobs at peak times, of which more than 60 % went to local people from the area. A transformer has also been built, along with an interconnection and a 12 km line with 43 supports.
Employees of Ilunion and the La Hormiga Verde special employment centre took part in the construction work, with a clear commitment to involving people with disabilities in these innovative projects. What’s more, a team of firefighters was available throughout the process.
Regional suppliers such as IMEDEXA in Casar de Cáceres and FARMAX in Marpartida de Plasencia were also involved, creating jobs and economic development in other locations.
Almaraz adds a further two photovoltaic complexes
Work has also started on two photovoltaic plants in Almaraz with 50 MW and 30 MW of installed power, respectively, despite the supply crisis and thanks to suitable foresight and project management and a resilient supply chain.
The metal structures are being manufactured by CAMETO, a company based in Tomelloso in the province of Ciudad Real, where the company has other photovoltaic projects. A part of the metal structure is made with “green steel” manufactured by Arcelor MITTAL, which has been certified by a reputable company, with iron management methods that lead to a considerable reduction in the carbon footprint
These projects will continue to provide local jobs in the coming months, stimulating the regional economy with orders to manufacture equipment and materials, as well as creating municipal wealth through taxes, which will help to boost local economies.
In September, Iberdrola announced the commissioning of the Arañuelo III (40 MW) photovoltaic plant in Romangordo, Caceres, the first in Spain to include a storage system, in this case, a 3 MW battery with 9 Mwh storage power.
This plant is part of the Campo Arañuelo complex in Almaraz, which consists of the Arañuelo I, II and II photovoltaic plants, with a combined installed capacity of 143 MW.
Committed to the rural and natural environment
Iberdrola has other photovoltaic plants in Extremadura, such as the Nuñez de Balboa plant in Usagre (Badajoz), where more than 1,200 sheep graze on the land of this facility whose 500 MW make it the biggest in Europe and Iberdrola’s largest in the world.
The plant has an environmental integration plan, allowing the land to be used as pasture for sheep. The space will be shared by nature, livestock, shepherds and the photovoltaic plant
