French energy provider Voltalia has begun full operations at its five-project solar PV cluster in Portugal. The Garrido cluster totals 50.6MW capacity, and the entirety of the power produced is contracted under corporate power purchase agreements (PPA).
The projects are spread across Portugal, the largest being the 23.8MWp Alcochete project in the country’s southwest. Commissioning of the projects began in March 2023 and has gradually unfolded until the final two sites – Oliveira de Frades and Antuzede – were connected to the grid this week.
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One of the companies with a PPA in place is BA Glass, a Portuguese-headquartered industrial glass producer.
“Portugal is a pioneer in Europe, with a significant share of renewable energies in its energy mix,” said CEO of Voltalia, Sébastien Clerc.
Indeed, last month Portugal doubled its solar PV deployment target to 20.4GW by 2030 under its updated national energy and climate plan (NECP). In its NECP, the government also outlined its expectation for renewable energy to supply 90% of its electricity needs by the end of the decade.
Voltalia’s project in Portugal are mostly located in the south, though, in general, PV projects are fairly well-spread across the whole of the country. A map of Portuguese PV projects is visible here.
Elsewhere, Voltalia began first operations at a 260MW PV cluster in Brazil, the Serra Branca cluster in Rio Grande do Norte.