Naturgy has commissioned its first photovoltaic plant in the province of Seville. The new facility located in Villanueva del Rey, between the municipalities of Ecija and La Luisiana, has a capacity of 50 MW and will produce 111 GWh of renewable energy per year. This is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 34,000 homes and will prevent the emission of 56,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
The new plant required an investment of 60 million euros and has generated more than 350 direct and indirect jobs during the construction and operation phase. In total, the new plant consists of more than 97,000 modules and will have a service life of 30 years.
Naturgy is also working on the development of nine other photovoltaic projects in the province of Seville, which will represent an additional 200 MW of power. Similarly, the province of Seville will also host the construction of a biomethane plant in the municipality of Utrera, which is expected to supply renewable gas to more than 10,500 Andalusian households.
With the start-up of Villanueva del Rey, Naturgy now has three photovoltaic parks in operation in Andalusia, including the two in Almeria (Tabernas I and Tabernas II, with 50 MW of power each). The company also has five wind farms: Los Llanos, in the province of Malaga, with 33.4 MW; La Rabia and El Tesorillo, in the province of Cadiz, with 21.7 MW and 26 MW, respectively; El Almendro, in the province of Huelva, with 44 MW; and Loma del Capón, with 30.6 MW, in Granada. All this adds up to a total renewable installed capacity in Andalusia of 305 MW, with capacity to produce clean electricity equivalent to the consumption of 203,000 homes.
In Andalusia as a whole, Naturgy is working on the development and construction of a total of 16 projects, of which ten are photovoltaic and the rest wind, located both in Seville and in the provinces of Granada, Huelva and Jaén. Recently, the company announced the start of construction of three new photovoltaic parks in Andújar, in the province of Jaén: Andújar I, Andújar II and Andújar III. They will generate a peak power of 100 MW and produce 180 GWh of renewable energy per year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 55,800 homes, avoiding the emission of 90,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. These sixteen projects planned in the region will add more than 700 MW of renewable capacity to the 305 MW already in operation.
Commitment to Energy Transition
Naturgy is working to boost its role in the energy transition and decarbonisation. The company currently has more than 6.6 GW of capacity in operation all around the world. This figure will continue to grow thanks to the upcoming commissioning of several projects currently under construction in Spain, the United States and Australia, totalling an additional 2.2 GW.
Investments in renewable energies over the last few years confirm the company’s strategic shift towards a more sustainable energy mix and its commitment to the energy transition. All this without ignoring the fundamental objectives of value creation and growth for each of its businesses, or the ESG goals.