PROJECT ROUND-UP: BNZ plans 49MWp plant in Portugal, Centrica signs VPPA in Spain

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The 73MW Luciana solar plant in California. Image: Idemitsu Renewables.

A round-up of the latest solar project news, as BNZ enters Portugal, Centrica pens a VPPA with Matrix Renewables in Spain and a 73MW plant in California is completed.

BNZ to develop 49MWp plant in Portugal

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

31 May 2022: Independent power producer (IPP) BNZ has secured authorisation for a 49MWp solar project it plans to develop in Portugal.

Due to be operational in 2023, the plant is BNZ’s first in Portugal, a market where it expects to install more than 400MWp of solar PV by 2024.

A portfolio company of clean energy fund manager Glennmont Partners, Barcelona-headquartered BNZ announced earlier this year that it will develop a 473MWp solar portfolio in Spain.

The company currently has a pipeline of more than 1GW of solar under development in Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Centrica pens VPPA for Spain project

30 May 2022: Energy services company Centrica has signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with developer Matrix Renewables for a 24MW solar park in Spain.

Centrica will offtake power production from the project in Andalucía as of July 2023, with the output to be sold in balancing and merchant power markets.

Madrid-headquartered Matrix Renewables was launched by investment platform The Rise Fund and alternative asset management company TPG in 2020.

The Centrica deal marks Matrix’s sixth PPA in the last eight months, with the companies now working to expand their partnership across Spain and Europe.

Idemitsu Renewables completes 73MW plant in California

1 June 2022: IPP Idemitsu Renewables has brought a 73MW solar project in California to commercial operation.

Located in Tulare County, the Luciana plant will now supply power to East Bay Community Energy, a public agency that operates a community choice energy programme, through a 15-year power purchase agreement.

Idemitsu Renewables CEO Cary Vandenberg said his company is proud to achieve commercial operation at the plant “considering the unprecedented supply chain challenges the industry faced this past year”.

Idemitsu is the US-based renewables arm of Japanese petrol giant Idemitsu Kosan.

2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.

Read Next

August 8, 2025
This week several solar developers have raised funds for projects around the world, including BRUC in Europe, Greenalia in the US, Qair in Mauritius and CREC in Philippines.
August 7, 2025
Independent power producer Arevon Energy has powered the second phase of the Eland solar-plus-storage Center in Los Angeles, California.
Premium
August 6, 2025
PV Talk: LevelTen’s Andrés Acosta discusses how an oversupply of clean projects is shaping Europe’s PPA market.
August 5, 2025
Sonnedix and Prosolia have acquired projects, while Iberdrola has signed a 34MW PPA with Burger King covering 109MW total.
August 1, 2025
Independent power producer GoldenPeaks Capital has reached commercial operations on a 92MW solar PV portfolio in Hungary.
July 31, 2025
Matthias Taft, the chief executive officer of renewables developer BayWa r.e., will leave the company at the end of August.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines