RWE is taking huge steps forward in expanding its Spanish solar business. Following the Casa Valdes and Puerta del Sol projects totaling 88 MWac, and the 92-MWac Gazules project currently under construction, RWE has now commissioned its 10-MWac ground-mounted Las Vaguadas solar farm. The company has installed 20,000 solar panels over an area of about 15 hectares in the province of Badajoz.
For all four solar projects, RWE is using high-performance bifacial modules. The advantage of the bifacial cells is that they can absorb solar radiation from both the front and the back, as they are embedded in a double-sided glass module. This boosts production.
Katja Wünschel, CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australia: “Solar power in Spain is a success story. We have realised the solar farms Casa Valdes, Puerta del Sol and Las Vaguadas and started building our solar project Gazules – together the four solar farms have around 500,000 bifacial solar modules. Soon, we will have expanded our solar capacity in our Spanish core market to around 250 megawatts – enough to supply thousands of Spanish homes with energy from the sun. This is a great achievement.”
RWE Renewables Iberia – a key driver of green energy
Besides its solar activities, RWE Renewables Iberia already operates onshore wind capacity of approximately 490 MW. In addition, RWE is in the commissioning phase of its Orkoien onshore wind project near Pamplona which will test innovative sustainable technologies. Building on its long-established onshore and solar business in Spain, RWE is now keen to enter the Spanish offshore market with its partner, Ferrovial. The two companies plan to jointly develop, construct and operate floating offshore wind farms off the Spanish coast.
A picture of Las Vaguadas for media use (credit: RWE) is available at the RWE Media Centre