Ibedrola is currently consulting the environment ministry over building a 590-megawatt solar farm in the Western region of Extramadurra, it said in a statement.

With a €300 million investment planned, the so-called Francisco Pizzarro plant will supply energy to 375,000 people every year and employ up to 1000 people in the process of construction, the company said.

The announcement comes amid increasingly competitive renewables prices and a favourable political atmosphere.

Falling costs

Since becoming minister for the ecological transition almost exactly one year ago Teresa Ribera has introduced climate legislation aiming to achieve 100 percent renewables by 2050.

In early October, Ribera scrapped the so-called “sun tax” – an unpopular levy on solar power affecting individuals and small businesses.

The government has also pledged to install between 6,000 and 7,000MW of renewable power every year until 2030.

Sergio de Otto, head of the Renewables Foundation told Climate Home News: “It’s clear that policies led by Teresa Ribera have given investors more confidence to throw themselves into projects like the one that Ibedrola has announced.” 

De Otto said costs for building renewable energy were falling “spectacularly”.

Extra growth

De Otto continued: “From our perspective, it is necessary that we – citizens and small businesses – lead the energy transition to 100 percent renewables by 2050, but we also understand the need for large solar plants produced by companies.

“We believe that in future these great installations will coexist with an extraordinary growth in small-scale renewables production. These are therefore two complementary models”

This Author 

Natalie Sauer reports for Climate Home News. She has contributed to a variety of international outlets, including Politico Europe, AFP and The Ecologist. This article was first published on Climate Home News.