The Ciudad Rodrigo Photovoltaic Plant is a renewable facility being developed by renewable energy company Iberdrola in Salamanca, Castilla y León, Spain.

The PV plant will have an installed production capacity of 318MW, making it one of the largest photovoltaic plants in Castilla y León.

It will generate enough clean power annually for 150,000 homes. This will prevent 75,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year into the atmosphere.

The construction work for the Ciudad Rodrigo Photovoltaic Project commenced in 2021.

Project Gallery

Iberdrola secured a favourable Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) approval for the plant in January 2023.

The development of the project will entail a total investment of around €200m.

Location details

The Ciudad Rodrigo PV Plant will be located in Salamanca, Castilla y León, in the city of Ciudad Rodrigo.

The project will be developed in a 439-hectare site between Valdecarros and the Torralba mountains, around 5km from the city centre.

Ciudad Rodrigo Plant details

The Ciudad Rodrigo PV Plant is expected to be developed in a single phase.

The project will feature 826,200 solar panels across the site. Other key infrastructure of the project will include transformer centres, earth network and communications, 800V to 30,000V elevators, and an underground evacuation network.

The project will focus on using local components for the development. It is estimated that around 800 local industrial suppliers from the area will be involved in the construction of the plant during the peak phase.

During peak construction phase, the project will involve around 250 workers.

Contractors Involved

Tecinsa, a company from Salamanca, secured the contract to build the 400kV substation for the Ciudad Rodrigo PV Plant in December 2021. The total value of the awarded contract is around €5m.

As per the terms of the contract, Tecinsa was in charge of the civil works for the substation as well as the electrical infrastructure that will regulate the voltage levels for the transmission and distribution of the electrical energy generated by the plant.

Other regional and national suppliers will also be associated with the project delivering different components or electrical infrastructures.

In October 2022, photovoltaic solar energy solutions provider Gonvarri Solar Steel signed an agreement with Iberdrola to supply 289MW of TracSmarT+1V trackers (single- and double-row) and 938MW of RackSmarT fixed structures.

The deliveries were for multiple projects including the Ciudad Rodrigo plant.

Iberdrola’s investment in renewable business

Iberdrola has unveiled a €47bn investment plan for the period of 2023-2025 based on more electricity grids and selective growth in renewables in a bid to support energy transition.

The company plans to invest around €17bn in renewables business to achieve a total capacity of 52,000MW by the end of the same period.

It plans to invest 46% of the amount in offshore wind, 25% in onshore wind, 24% in solar PV, 3% in batteries, and 2% in hydroelectric sector.

In Castilla y León, the Spanish renewable company has more than 5,212MW of hydro, wind, and solar capacity.

The addition of the Ciudad Rodrigo photovoltaic project will further strengthen Castilla y León’s position as an important centre for renewable energy developments in Iberdrola’s investment cycle to 2025.

The company’s latest activities in the region include the commissioning of the first 50MW PV plant in Teruel, and the 63MW Herrera 2 Wind Farm.

The Villarino Photovoltaic Plant was completed in the beginning of 2023. With more than 110,000 photovoltaic modules, the plant will boost its capacity to 50MW.

Iberdrola aims to have 100,000MW of installed capacity, which includes more than 80% in renewable, by the end of this decade.