GCL-SI Supplies 150 MW Solar Modules for Iberdrola’s 500 MW Facility

GCL-SI is scheduled to deliver solar modules worth 150 MW to the 500 MW Nuñez de Balboa project that Iberdrola is building in Spain

GCL-SI, a world-leading one-stop intelligent and integrated energy system provider, is scheduled to deliver 72 solar modules with three varying grades of power to the 500 MW Nuñez de Balboa project in December.

Nuñez de Balboa is the first utility-scale solar station made by Iberdrola in Europe. The 1,000-hectare mega-facility with a capacity of 500 MW is currently the largest ongoing project in continental Europe. In March 2019, GCLSI obtained the right to supply the Nuñez de Balboa project through competitive bidding, with a capacity of 150 MW.

The project plans to enter commercial operations in 2020 with a supply of 400kV to the Bienvenida substation. Once fully operational, the project will supply energy to 250,000 people and offset 215,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

“Nuñez de Balboa is a pioneering project that will consolidate the leadership of Extremadura, Spain and the EU in the transition to a more sustainable energy system,” said Ignacio Galán, President of Iberdrola. The government of Spain plans to generate more than 74 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030, far exceeding the EU’s overall target of 32 percent.

In July, we reported that the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) will finance the development of the Núñez de Balboa photovoltaic power plant, which Iberdrola is currently building in Extremadura, Spain. The EU bank will provide EUR 145m and ICO will provide up to EUR 140m for the company’s new renewable energy project, the total investment for which will reach EUR 290 million.

In June, Iberdrola had announced that it is moving forward with its renewables strategy with the Francisco Pizarro project which, with 590 MW and investment totalling more than €300 million, will become Europe’s largest photovoltaic solar plant.

The project will occupy a 1,300-hectare site falling within Caceres’ municipal areas of Torrecillas de la Tiesa and Aldeacentenera. It will be larger than the Núñez de Balboa photovoltaic plant that the utility is building in Usagre (Badajoz) which, with 500 MW, is so far the biggest in Europe.