• Construction works underway; full commissioning expected in 2023
• Bifacial module technology increases production
• Green electricity to supply the equivalent of 42,000 Portuguese homes

Katja Wünschel, CEO Onshore Wind and PV Europe & Australia, RWE Renewables: “We are happy to contribute to the energy transition in Portugal with our new ground-mounted solar farm. In one of the sunniest regions of the country we will install more than 91,000 bifacial modules, which will help to increase the production of the whole plant. Once completed in 2023, this project will further strengthen our already strong renewables footprint on the Iberian Peninsula as well as our global solar portfolio.”

RWE is making good progress in expanding its solar business in Europe: having last year kicked-off the construction for two ground-mounted solar farms, and plans to start construction of another one in Spain this summer, the company is now realising a new photovoltaic (PV) project in Portugal. The solar farm with a planned capacity of 44 megawatts (MWac) is located south of Lisbon in Morgavel, Sines. With around 3,000 hours of sun per year, this is one of the sunniest regions of the country.

For this solar project, RWE will use bifacial high-performance modules. The advantage: the bifacial cells are embedded in a double-sided glass-module by which the solar radiation can be absorbed from both sides – the front and the back of the module.

Early construction works have already kicked-off. The installation of more than 91,000 solar panels is expected to start in late summer on an area of about 100 hectares. The construction works for the PV plant will be carried out by Omexom Portugal. Construção e Manutenção Eletromecânica (CME) is the contractor for the substation and grid connection works.

After full commissioning in 2023, RWE’s Morgavel photovoltaic plant will be able to supply the equivalent of approximately 42,000 Portuguese homes with green electricity and will make a substantial contribution to reach the local climate targets.

As one of the leading renewable energy companies, RWE is operating photovoltaic plants worldwide – including Limondale, which is with a capacity of 249 MWac one of the largest solar farms in Australia. Further solar projects are in development or already under construction with a strong focus on implementing innovative solutions. This year the company has completed its first floating photovoltaic project on a lake in the Netherlands. In addition, RWE is currently constructing solar plants with integrated battery storage systems and is looking into the development of agricultural photovoltaic plants.

As part of its ambitious “Growing Green” growth strategy RWE is massively stepping up the pace and is investing €50 billion gross in its core business in this decade. That means an average of €5 billion gross each year for offshore and onshore wind, solar, batteries, flexible generation and hydrogen. In onshore wind and solar, RWE is expanding its installed capacity from 7 gigawatts to 20 gigawatts by 2030.