Business & Economy

Europe’s largest reservoir-borne solar power plant inaugurated in Portugal

Alqueva, Portugal, Jul 15 (EFE).- Portuguese energy company EDP inaugurated on Friday its pioneering floating solar power plant in the country’s south, the largest of its kind on a reservoir in Europe.

The power plant is made up of 12,000 photovoltaic panels and occupies 4 hectares of the Alqueva reservoir. The six million euro project has the capacity to produce around 7.5 GWh per year and supply over 30% of families in the southern region.

“Alqueva is today an example of innovation and sustainability, (…) a global pioneer in floating solar technology, which is a landmark leap in the expansion of renewables and in accelerating the decarbonisation process,” CEO of EDP, Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, said.

“The bet on hybridization, by combining electricity produced from water, sun, wind and storage, is a logical path of growth in which EDP will continue to invest — it allows us to produce cheaper energy, optimizes resources and with minimal environmental impact,” he added.

Located in the largest reservoir in Western Europe — on the Guadiana River and close to the border with the Spanish region of Extremadura, — the platform was built in about six months and placed on the waters of the Alqueva dam in May this year.

EDP plans to expand the project and aims to make it the largest floating solar plant in the world.

The large-scale project in Alqueva follows a successful smaller pilot project in Alto Rabagão, in northern Portugal, installed seven years ago.

The company said the project was “in line with EDP’s strategy of investing in innovation and renewable projects and being 100% green by 2030.” EFE

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