JOSÉ MARÍA BARREDA AND IGNACIO GALÁN OPEN IBERDROLA RENOVABLES’ FIRST SOLAR THERMAL POWER PLANT, Iberdrola Renovables
Release Date: 2009-05-08
* The plant is in Puertollano (Ciudad Real) and has installed capacity of 50 MW
* Annual output is estimated more than 100 million kWh, equivalent to the energy consumption of 100,000 people. The plant will avoid the emission of approximately 90,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere
* The new plant places Castilla-La Mancha at forefront of renewable energy development
José María Barreda, President of the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, and Ignacio Galán, Chairman of IBERDROLA RENOVABLES, opened the company’s first solar thermal power plant today in Puertollano (Ciudad Real).
The ceremony was also attended by Enrique Jiménez, Head of IDAE (the Spanish Institute for Energy Diversification and Savings); Joaquín Carlos Hermoso, Mayor of Puertollano; Paula Fernández, the Minister for Industry, Energy and the Environment of the region of Castilla-La Mancha; Xabier Viteri, CEO of IBERDROLA RENOVABLES; and Víctor M. Rodríguez, head of the company’s operations in Spain, among others.
The Puertollano solar thermal power plant, with an installed capacity of 50 megawatts (MW), is 90%-owned by IBERDROLA RENOVABLES and 10% by IDAE. The plant will produce an estimated more than 100 million kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, equivalent to the consumption of a town of approximately 100,000 habitants, and reduce CO2 emissions by around 90,000 tonnes. The investment has been around €200 million.
In his speech, Galán recalled that two years ago in Puertollano he announced plans to build the plant. “That day, with President Barreda present, I said this was going to be a state of the art project in terms of technology and environment, and that it would play a leading role in fostering sustainable growth for Puertollano and its surrounding area,” he said.
“Today, we can all see that IBERDROLA has stood by its commitment, and that our bet on innovation and on this region has become reality. We are witnessing a pioneering project in Europe that will reinforce Puertollano’s role as International City of Energy, and that of Castilla-La Mancha as a benchmark for renewable energy in Spain,” Galán added.
This plant is an example of IBERDROLA RENOVABLES’ commitment to new technologies and has directly generated 60 new jobs in the area. On average 200 workers were employed in the plant’s construction, with as many as 650 during peak workload.
The facility has a solar collection area of nearly 290,000 m2, occupies approximately 150 hectares and consists of 352 parabolic-cylinder collectors, fitted with 120,000 parabolic mirrors and 13,000 absorber tubes. It puts Castilla-La Mancha at the forefront of solar energy development and reinforces leadership in renewable energy in Spain.
| Type: | NORMAL |
| Company: | Iberdrola Renovables |
| Country: | Spain |
| Url: | http://www.iberdrola.es/webibd/corporativa/iberdrola?IDPAG=ENMODULOPRENSA&URLPAG=/gc/prod/en/comunicacion/notasprensa/090508_NP_CentralTermosolarPuertollano.html |