Solarcentury installs a new 300 MWp solar farm in Extremadura

It represents an investment of 300 million euros and will supply 150,000 homes

Solarcentury Iberia, a subsidiary of the British company of the same name, has announced the development of a new 300 MWp solar farm in Extremadura that it has called Talayuela Solar. With one of Spain's highest solar yields, when it is fully operating it will generate 2,000 units of electricity a year for each kWp installed, enough to power 150,000 homes, over 10% of the population in this autonomous region.

The project is backed by the Extremadura regional government, which, according to the press release from Solarcentury “has welcomed the environmental and economic benefits that the farm will bring to the local area”. In mid-December, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Extremadura Department of Economy and Infrastructure, in which it valued the investment at 300 million euros.

An innovative plant
Construction is scheduled to start at the end of 2018, and is pending authorization from the national government. Its start-up is expected for 2019. For its design, Solarcentury has worked with a local partner, the international engineering company Genia Global Energy. Together they have developed an innovative plant that will make it possible to regulate the amount of electricity entering the grid in response to the actual energy demand, thus avoiding overcapacity at times of low demand.

According to José Miguel Ferrer, General Manager of Solarcentury for the Iberian region: “We are pleased with the collaboration and the support received by the national and local authorities in Extremadura. Proof of that is the framework agreement signed on 15th of December between Junta de Extremadura and Genia Extremadura Solar, supporting through Talayuela Solar the development and the economy in the region”.

A key market
The Iberian Peninsula is a key market for Solarcentury, who sees a resurgence in the Spanish solar market thanks, among other aspects, to the decline in solar energy prices in the last five years. The company considers as a positive step the fact that Spain has achieved grid parity, which means that large solar farms like Talayuela can be developed without the need for state subsidies. According to the press release, that is “good news for consumers, but also for investors who will be able to fund this and other similar schemes through a range of private sector options, including private power purchase agreements”.