Italian energy company Enel, through its subsidiary Enel Green Power España (EGPE) has been selected by the Spanish Government in a tender for the development of 339MW solar plants in the country.

The tender is part of Spain’s clean energy target to generate 20% or 3GW of its energy from renewable resources by 2020.

The tender win adds to the company’s existing 540MW wind power capacity that was awarded last May. For this project, the company stated that it will invest about €270m for the construction of the solar plants, which will be located in the regions of Murcia and Bajadoz.

Once completed, the solar plants are expected to produce as much as 640GWh of clean energy per year. This energy is equivalent to offsetting about 384,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, had it been generated from conventional fuels such as coal or diesel.

The solar plants are expected to be completed in 2019 and the energy generated, will be sold in the Spanish pool market. The Spanish Government will provide incentives through yearly capacity payments, which can guarantee a steady return for the investment over a 25 year period or the life time of the facilities.

Enel Global Renewable Energies head Antonio Cammisecra said: “This new milestone confirms our commitment to green energy in Spain, a country which continues to offer growth opportunities for our renewable projects. 

“Together with the wind capacity awarded in May, this 339 MW of solar capacity will bolster our renewable footprint in Spain, while also contributing to the country’s push to achieve its green energy goal.”

EGPE is a fully owned subsidiary of Enel, which operates more than 1.6GW of capacity in Spain. This includes about 1.6GW from wind, 43MW from hydropower and 14MW from other renewable sources such as solar and biomass. The company generates about 4TWh of green energy in the country, every year.

Recently, Enel inaugurated a 90MW wind farm in Brazil, through its subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participações (EGPB).

Image: Enel wins tender to develop 339MW solar plants in Spain. Photo: Courtesy of worradmu/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.