Construction begins on Aura Power’s solar farm in Portugal
Published by Abi Larkin,
Editorial Assistant
Energy Global,
Construction is due to begin on the 27 MWp solar farm at Casal da Cortiça, Leiria in Portugal whose grid connection capacity was awarded in the 2019 solar power auctions.
The solar farm has been developed by Aura Power with the construction of the grid works scheduled to begin in mid-February by EDP Comercial. Aura Power’s joint venture partner, ib vogt, will then begin construction of the solar farm in May.
The solar farm is located 120 km north of Lisbon and 6 km to the south of the city of Leiria. It lies adjacent to the EREDES(DNO) Azoia substation where it will connect directly into, at the 60KV voltage level.
With an energy generation of 44 GWh/y, the solar farm will provide enough clean electricity to power over 13 500 homes, preventing the emissions of over 9000 tpy of CO2 entering the atmosphere.
Ben Moore, COO of Aura Power, said: “We are really pleased to announce the construction of this project, which is the first utility scale PV farm in Portugal to be developed organically and constructed all the way to COD by a British company. It is the first of many that we are bringing through our pipeline all the way to COD and we are proud to be able to help contribute towards Portugal’s commendable 2026 and 2050 net zero targets.”
Portugal has an ambitious target to reach 80% clean electricity production by 2026, four years earlier than previously planned.
Jorge Fernandes, Country Manager at Aura Power, stated: “This project is of special importance to Aura Power given that it marks our first project where our team will manage, in full, the construction all the way to COD. We first began securing the land for this project in March 2018, demonstrating our commitment early on to this part of Portugal. The project is a complex one given its location and fragmented nature of the land used, so it is with great satisfaction to reach the construction phase.”
Construction is expected to be completed 4Q23, with energisation expected shortly after.
Aura Power has over 20 GW of solar and battery energy storage projects in development across Europe and North America.
For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.
Energy Global's Winter 2022 issue
The Winter 2022 issue of Energy Global hosts an array of technical articles focusing on wind, solar, energy storage, geothermal, and more. This issue also features a regional report on the Australian renewables sector.
Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/solar/15022023/construction-begins-on-aura-powers-solar-farm-in-portugal/
You might also like
Ossian completes essential wind data campaign
A campaign to gather more than two years’ worth of wind data crucial for the development of the Ossian floating offshore wind farm has been completed.