ACCIONA Energía has completed its first hybrid renewable energy plant with the construction of a 29.4 MW photovoltaic plant on the site of the existing Escepar wind farm (36 MW), located in the municipalities of Villalba del Rey and Tinajas (Cuenca).
The Escepar solar plant is made up of by 54 208 photovoltaic modules, and will generate 48 170 MWh/y of clean electricity, an amount equivalent to the consumption of 13 800 homes. This capacity will be added to the 57 500 MWh/y that is already produced by the Escepar wind farm. Together, the two facilities that make up the hybrid plant will generate enough electricity to supply more than 30 000 homes and avoid the emission of more than 46 000 tpy of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to planting 2.5 million trees or taking more than 17 750 cars off the road.
The addition of the photovoltaic plant at Escepar has created up to 130 jobs during its construction peak. In addition, the project includes a Social Impact Management program that ACCIONA Energía implements in all its facilities, with the aim of generating a positive impact on the communities in which it operates through reinvesting a portion of its annual income in the local area.
In the specific case of Villalba del Rey, ACCIONA Energía is running a pro-gramme to revitalise the Santos Sebastián e Isidro oil co-operative, one of the main economic engines of the municipality, by financing different activities to boost its performance. Meanwhile, in Tinajas, the company has arranged different activities at the Pensioners’ Association and is funding improvements to its facilities.
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The Winter 2023 issue of Energy Global hosts an array of technical articles weather analysis, geothermal solutions, energy storage technology, and more. This issue also features a regional report looking at the future of renewables in North America, and a report from Théodore Reed-Martin, Editorial Assistant, Energy Global, on how Iceland utilises its unique geology for renewable energy.