Neoen Bags Two Solar Projects Worth 108 MW in Europe

Neoen has been awarded two solar projects in Portugal and France worth a total combined capacity of 108 MW.

Neoen, one of the world’s leading and fastest-growing independent producers of exclusively renewable energy has announced that it has been awarded two solar projects in Portugal and France worth a total combined capacity of 108 MW.

The first project worth 65 MW has been awarded in the recent solar tender auctions held by the Portuguese government which yielded the world record lowest solar contracts.

This photovoltaic power plant, already at a very advanced stage of its development, is located close to the town of Rio Maior, 70 km north of Lisbon. The project wholly owned by Neoen holds a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Portuguese government at a non-inflated price of €23.47 per MWh. Neoen’ price is one of the highest awarded, guaranteeing a good level of profitability for this project.

Every year the power plant will generate 130 GWh, equivalent to the average annual consumption of a town of 28,000 inhabitants. Construction of the solar project will begin in 2021, with the plant due to enter service in early 2022.

Bernardo Dos Santos, director of Neoen Portugal, said that in 2010, Neoen was the biggest winner in the previous call for tenders held by the government, and has since demonstrated its ability to see the projects it won through to fruition.

“With this latest success, Neoen is proud to have shown its genuinely local credentials, its desire to invest in Portugal over the long term and its ability to harness photovoltaic energy to promote the shift to cleaner power and the country’s drive for greater competitiveness.”

The second project worth 43 MW combined capacity was awarded projects under the invitation to bid for ground-based photovoltaic plants held recently by the French government.

This capacity is spread across five projects wholly owned by Neoen. The five successful projects are located in the French départements of Charente, Indre-et-Loire, HauteGaronne, and Landes for two of them. They are all planned on brownfield sites and will thus help to revitalise former quarries and industrial wasteland with tight restrictions on other potential reuses and regeneration options. The new solar plants are due to enter service in 2021.

Xavier Barbaro, chairman and chief executive officer of Neoen, said “These results provide another evidence of Neoen’s leadership in France where – with impressive regularity – we rank among the leading winners of government-held calls for tenders. We wish to thank the local officials and partners who have been persuaded by the benefits of working with us and placed their trust in us to develop these photovoltaic projects. We are keeping the rapid pace of our development momentum, building new projects in France and cementing our position as a leading independent operator.”