250 MW, Unsubsidized Solar PV Power Plant Planned For Western Spain

Plans for a 250 MW solar photovoltaic plant to be built in the autonomous region of western Spain known as Extremadura were recently approved by the local government there. The power plant, as with all new solar power plants in Spain, will be unsubsidized.

The exact location will be in the Royanejos municipality. The local media there have reported that that the French company Dhamma Energy is behind the project.

Before the project can move further, the necessary environmental and administrative permits still need to be obtained. The project is predicted to support at least 500 jobs (most during construction), with about 70 permanent positions amongst those. Total investment is predicted to be about €270 million.

At 250 MW, the solar PV power plant would be the 3rd-largest in the world (or the 2nd-largest if you don’t count the Gujarat Solar Park’s various solar projects as one combined power plant). Spain’s largest on the list is currently 60 MW Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park (#15), but the country does sport some of the largest solar thermal power plants in the world —  the 250 MW “Solnova Solar Power Station” in Seville, Spain (#2) and the 150 MW “Andasol Solar Power Station” in Granada, Spain (#3).

The city of Extremadura, like much of Spain, has great potential for solar energy generation, thanks to the more than 3,200 hours of sunshine that the region receives every year.