The construction of Abo Energy's first turnkey solar park in Spain remains on schedule after work began in January. The installation phase for the mounting systems and panels will begin over the summer with 87,000 modules, and the plant will be operational by early next year.

Valdezorita Solar park will have an installed capacity of 50 megawatts peak and will produce around 100 gigawatt hours per year. Located in the town of Yebra (Guadalajara) in Castilla-La Mancha, it will connect to the grid by using the node of the dismantled Zorita nuclear power plant. The solar park was in fact awarded its grid capacity based on criteria related to socio-economic and environmental benefits to the area affected by the closure of the former nuclear power plant.

Solar tracking technology
The size of the park is another challenge for the German company, as it is its largest solar plant to date equipped with solar tracking technology. This system means that panels automatically angle themselves towards the sun to optimise their performance. Without specifying the figure, Abo Energy (formerly known as Abo Wind) claims that investment is in the double-digit millions of euros. It has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with a large international buyer for its operational phase.

Abo Energy Spain's managing director Patricia Comes Salvador says her team “has developed this great project in a relatively short period of time over the last four years”, adding that, “Collaboration with landowners and public authorities has proven to be excellent and we were able to develop the solar park with the support of residents and municipalities. The project will also provide economic benefits to the rural area by awarding large-scale contracts to Spanish subcontractors.”

New company name
As is customary in this type of project, the company will implement various measures to offset the environmental impact of the installation. These include radio tagging and monitoring native eagle species, such as imperial and golden eagles, nest boxes for European rollers (Coracias garrulus), and improvements to the habitat of steppe birds.

German company Abo Energy, the parent company of Abo Energy España, is in addition in the process of changing its corporate name and legal form, leaving its former brand Abo Wind behind. As the company explains by giving examples such as Valdezorita Solar, it has moved away from its former name, which had been used in the Spanish subsidiary since February, as it diversifies its technology and services after a period of specialising in wind energy.

^{Photo: Abo Energy}