Renewable energy producer BayWa r.e. has announced the construction of what will be its first hybrid project in Spain, which will also include its largest onshore wind farm in the world. Rueda Sur, which will be located in the province of Zaragoza, will consist of three wind farms with a capacity of 135 megawatts peak and two solar farms with a capacity of 53 megawatts peak. It is scheduled to be connected to the grid by the end of 2025.

The German company has developed the project together with Compañía Energética Aragonesa de Renovables (CEAR), a local partner that will continue to participate in the next phases. The parks will be distributed among the municipalities of Épila, Lumpiaque and Rueda de Jalón, and will receive a total investment of over 280 million euros. The hybridisation or combination of wind and solar power technologies in the same project will materialise with the use of the same grid infrastructure, thus considerably reducing costs.

Development and implementation
The construction of Rueda Sur will start with the three wind farms, which have been designed with the idea of optimising the footprint to reduce development and implementation costs and to secure better financing conditions. Each of them will have eight Nordex wind turbines providing a combined capacity of 45 megawatts peak.

In the second phase, construction will begin on the two solar power plants, one with 30 MW of peak capacity and the other with 23 MW of peak capacity. When operational by the end of 2025, the five wind farms will produce around 475 gigawatt hours of electricity per year. The innovation of Rueda Sur, combined with its complexity and large size, will serve as a model for future hybridisation projects.

Combined generation
Global Director of BayWa r.e. Daniel Gäfke said, “We are very excited to be developing this project. It is setting a precedent for us in Spain, as it is unique in terms of size and the innovative structure of combined wind and solar power generation. We will work closely with the local community so that people and the environment can benefit the most from the positive impact of Rueda Sur: promoting biodiversity, improving sustainability and creating jobs.

In his remarks, Gäfke referred to the environmental measures that have been planned as part of the project to enhance the landscape and improve biodiversity. These initiatives include implementing an innovative system that incorporates artificial intelligence to detect protected bird species.

A complex yet important challenge
Global Director of IPP at BayWa r.e., Alexander Rothenanger, explained that “combining different technologies and energy sources for projects like this is always a complex yet important challenge, while providing real added value for our diversified portfolio”.

BayWa r.e. CEO Matthias Taft concluded, “I still remember how, 21 years ago, we built La Muela, our first wind farm in Spain, with 99 megawatts, a truly pioneering project at the time. Looking at the estimated production of Rueda Sur with its innovative dual-technology character, I am proud to see how far we have come.”

^{Photo: BayWa. r.e.}