Foresight Group has announce the full operation of Vale Matanças 7.2MW solar farm located in Alcácer do Sal, Portugal, which was grid connected on 5 December 2018.
Image: Foresight begins operations of Vale Matanças 7.2MW solar farm in Portugal. Photo courtesy of Foresight Group.
Foresight originally acquired the project in Jun 2017, and construction started earlier this year.
The project which derives income purely from the sale of the power generated, has secured a ten-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with a Spanish utility company and will deliver 12GWh of clean renewable electricity per annum.
The acquisition of Vale Matanças was the first investment in a Portuguese utility scale solar asset which did not benefit from government subsidy and heralded the start of a larger unsubsidized solar portfolio acquisition plan that Foresight is currently implementing across Portugal, Spain and Italy.
The project which has a 30 year operational life in line with typical Foresight solar infrastructure investments is located in one of the highest irradiation area in the Iberian Peninsula.
Foresight director Carlos Rey commented: “We are pleased to announce the grid connection and full operation at Vale Matanças. This is the second of our unsubsidized solar plants to come on stream, the first being the 3.9MW plant Torre de Cotillas in Spain.
“Iberian Grid-parity forms a key part of our long-term strategy as we are looking to consolidate further our leadership as a worldwide solar operator” and added “the execution of our second 10 year PPA in the region is further proof of a robust future for the Iberian unsubsidised market”
Foresight has been advised by Our New Energy in the execution of the Power Purchase Agreement.
In October, Foresight opened a new office in Madrid, further strengthening its presence in Southern Europe for subsidy free solar acquisitions.
Source: Company Press Release