First energy produced at the end of 2022 – RWE has commissioned a 44-megawatt (MWac) solar farm in the Province of Guadalajara, close to Madrid. Casa Valdes is a ground-mounted photovoltaic plant and will be able to supply the equivalent of 30,000 Spanish homes with green electricity annually.
RWE installed 97,740 bifacial high-performance modules at Casa Valdes on an area of about 97 hectares. The advantage of this approach is that 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. This will help to increase production. RWE also uses these innovative modules for its solar construction projects Puerta del Sol (close to Casa Valdes) and Las Vaguadas (Badajoz province). A total of 54 MWac are being constructed at these two sites.
Katja Wünschel, CEO Onshore Wind and Solar Europe & Australia, RWE Renewables:
“What a nice end-of-year gift and fantastic news to start the New Year! With the commissioning of Casa Valdes, RWE will contribute towards achieving the Spanish climate targets. The Spanish sun is a great partner of the energy transition. And innovative technologies like the bifacial modules used at Casa Valdes help us to make the best out of this energy source and this site . I am also looking forward to the completion of our solar plants that are still under construction and the further projects to come in Spain as one of our core markets this year.”
RWE Renewables Iberia – a strong green footprint in Spain
Due to its geographical situation, attractive external conditions and ambitious climate targets, Spain is ideally positioned to expand wind and solar power facilities. RWE, a global leader in renewable energy, has many years of construction and operating experience. RWE Renewables Iberia operates an onshore wind capacity of more than 480 MW and a solar capacity of more than 90 MWac in Spain. In addition to the solar construction projects RWE is building the Orkoien onshore wind project to test innovative technologies to further promote sustainability.
In line with its growth ambitions, RWE is preparing the wind and solar PV projects in the existing development pipeline to take part in the “Concurso de Capacidad”, the Spanish tenders to access capacity for the electricity transmission grid.
Pictures of Casa Valdes for media use (credit: RWE) are available at the RWE Media Centre