Solar developer Lightsource bp has received environmental approval for 19 solar PV projects across several regions in Spain.
Located in the provinces of Zaragoza, Seville, Córdoba, Toledo and Valladolid, these projects will have a total capacity of 1.6GW.
With the environmental approval obtained, the projects are expected to reach commercial operations by 2025.
The construction of the plants will involve a €1.2 billion (US$1.28 billion) investment and will create more than 5,000 jobs during the construction phase and 90 during the operation and maintenance phase of the plants.
The solar developer will also seek potential buyers to sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the output of the plants, taking advantage of the country’s excellent solar conditions and high interest in large-scale solar PPAs.
“The achievement of results like these demonstrates our experience in the development of quality assets and how we can contribute to the decarbonisation of Spain, representing an opportunity for utilities and corporate customers that want to acquire renewable energy through PPA contracts and other structures,” said Fernando Roger, development director for Southern Europe at Lightsource bp.
As Lightsource bp continues to develop more solar projects across the globe, it has secured a supply agreement with thin-film manufacturer First Solar for 4GW of modules in the US between 2026-28, while it signed several solar PPAs in February, including a 188MW PPA with utility AEP Energy Partners in Indiana and with fast food giant McDonald’s for a capacity of 180MW in Louisiana.
PV Tech publisher Solar Media will be organising the 11th annual edition of Large Scale Solar Europe in Lisbon, Portugal during 21-22 March. The event will explore the future solar markets of Portugal, Spain and Italy and with panels around securing faster grid connection, solar-wind hybrid projects and the integration of storage with solar PV among others.