Spain

The Spanish gas and power provider will use the funds to build the Sertão I Solar and Sobral I Solar projects, with a combined capacity of 68 MW.

Construction has begun on three solar plants in the Extremadura region, with a total capacity of 127 MW. The projects – expected to be in operation by the end of 2019 – were awarded to Enel in Spain’s third renewables auction, and involve a total investment of close to €100 million.

Energy company Iberdrola will supply power to telecoms business Euskatel. The electricity will be generated by the 391 MW Núñez de Balboa solar plant the company is building in southern Spain, for which Iberdrola secured a first PPA last summer.

A few days after the Spanish government introduced new rules for self-consumption and canceled the solar tax, the Spanish Parliament is now reviewing new provisions to reduce the time frame of the registration for a project under the self-consumption regime, while also simplifying bureaucratic procedures.

The Talayuela plant will be built by British developer Solarcentury in the region of Extremadura and will sell electricity under a PPA contract.

The Spanish Cabinet has approved a royal decree, which introduces a package of urgent measures to boost the country’s energy transition. It includes the already announced elimination of the “sun tax”, and other important measures, such as compliance with renewable energy objectives, electric vehicle adoption, reduced electricity prices, a social bonus for heating, consumer protection measures, and the extension of an electric social bond.

Looking at a scenario, in which the Spanish residential solar market is booming again, energy consultancy, ecoSynergies finds that the energy system could save billions, both in terms of CO2, and fuel and grid costs. Additionally, introducing the EU’s suggestion to fairly compensate prosumers for their surplus energy, would allow households to slash payback times for their solar systems by more than a half. In some cases, the amortization period could go down from 25 to seven years.

pv magazine interviewed Ricardo Arias González, who holds a PhD in Physical Sciences and introduced the Optical Tweezers applied to biology in Spain. It is one of the tools of photonics for which Arthur Ashkin received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018, together with Donna Strickland and Gérard Mourou.

Unlike its three previous funds, which focused on plants in operation, the Spanish asset manager will raise €300 million for the construction of plants without subsidies.

The Spanish power and gas provider has started construction on two 50 MW solar plants near Ciudad Real, in the southern region of Castile–La Mancha. The projects are part of the 250 MW pipeline it secured in the government’s renewable energy auction held in July.