- Overall, the two plants will create up to 200 jobs during peak construction and will produce 20,000 MWh of green energy per year, enough to supply around 15,000 households
- Iberdrola has 1,960 MW wind and solar project pipeline in Portugal, in addition to the 1,158-MW Támega Pumped Hydroelectric Complex
09/03/2023
Iberdrola continues to advance the development of its renewable projects in Portugal. Installation work is now progressing at the Montechoro I (11.57 MW) and Montechoro II (25 MW) photovoltaic (PV) plants near the town of Albufeira, in southern Portugal.
With joint installed capacity of 37 MW, the solar PV complex will prevent the emission of 42,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
More than 64,500 bifacial panels, with two light-sensitive surfaces, will be installed, allowing for greater electricity production without increasing the number of panels. Overall, the plants will generate 20,000 MWh of locally produced, green energy annually, enough to supply around 15,000 households, equivalent to half the population of the city of Albufeira.
The project, which involves an investment of more than €28 million and is expected to be operational later this year, will contribute to create up to 200 mostly local jobs during peak construction.
Portugal, a key country for Iberdrola
Over the next few years, Iberdrola plans to invest €3 billion euros in wind and solar energy in Portugal. One of the key projects is the Fernando Pessoa photovoltaic plant, with 1,200 MW capacity, which will become Europe’s largest PV project and the fifth largest in the world. The plant, located in the municipality of Santiago do Cacém, is expected to come on stream in 2025 and will supply enough clean, competitive and locally generated electricity to cover the annual needs of 430,000 homes.
Over the coming months, the company plans to begin construction at Carregado (62 MW) solar plant in Alenquer (Lisbon) and Estoi (83 MW) PV project in the Algarve, which will include battery storage and will be connected to the grid in 2024.
These facilities will add to the operating solar plants Alcochete (46 MW), Conde (13.5 MW) and Algeruz II (27 MW) located in the Setúbal district (Lisbon region) and commissioned at the end of 2022. These three plants – together with Carregado and Estoi – are part of the eight PV projects, with a total of 270 MW capacity, awarded to Iberdrola in the 2019 and 2020 Portuguese auctions. Iberdrola was the largest winner by number of lots in the 2019 capacity tender.
In addition, the group is developing an onshore wind farm linked to the mega pumped-storage hydroelectric plant inaugurated in the Tâmega river, in northern Portugal, which will become a hybrid generation plant.
The Tâmega gigabattery, the largest clean energy initiative in the country’s history, has three dams and three power plants (Gouvães, Daivões and Alto Tâmega) with a combined capacity of 1,158 MW. It is capable of storing the energy consumed by eleven million people in a day.
Iberdrola already operates 92 MW of onshore wind in the country, spread over three wind farms: Catefica, in the municipality of Torres Vedras, with 18 MW; Alto do Monção, in Mortágua and Tondela, with 32 MW; and Serra do Alvão, in Ribeira de Pena, with 42 MW. Together, these plants produce 200 GWh per year, enough to supply 35,000 households.
