French energy company TotalEnergies has presented a project with which it intends to hybridise its combined cycle gas plant in Castejón (Navarre) with renewable generation facilities. This will bring an additional capacity of 131 MWp to the plant, which currently has 850 MW between the Castejón 1 plant, built in 2002, and the Castejón 3 plant, built in 2008.

The project consists of hybridising the Castejón 1 plant, where a solar PV plant and a wind power plant will be installed together with their evacuation infrastructure. The 981 MW of total capacity will continue to use the same grid access point. The use of existing infrastructure is not only a better use of its capacity, but also a commitment to securing supply in the region.

Planned investment
TotalEnergies' multi-energy synergies policy aims to promote renewable energy and decarbonise its operations. According to the company, the Castejón hybridisation project, known as the South Branch, is an important step towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. An investment of 100 million euros is planned for its implementation.

The new renewable facilities will be located in the municipalities of Corella and Cintruénigo. The solar PV plant will consist of around 76,000 solar modules and will have an installed capacity of 44.72 MWp. The wind farm will have 13 6.6 MW wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 85.8 MW. Annual electricity generation from both plants will exceed 350 GWh.

Successful energy transition
Jordi Torres, Managing Director of TotalEnergies Renewables in Spain, said, “This project is an example of our firm commitment to decarbonising our electricity generation in Spain, which is possible thanks to our status as a multi-energy company. With this hybridisation, we will be able to increase the renewable electricity available in the country's energy mix, contributing to reaching the 81% target set by the National Energy and Climate Plan (Plan Nacional Integrado de Energía y Clima – PNIEC) by 2030.”

Idar Ait Bengrir, Vice-President of Combined Cycle Gas at TotalEnergies, explained, “At TotalEnergies, we know that combined cycle power is key as the backup power to secure the energy system’s supply, but at the same time we are also aware of the fundamental role of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, for ensuring that the energy transition is successful. Now, thanks to hybridisation, we can combine and enhance these advantages.”

^{Photo: TotalEnergies}