KEYFACT Energy
- The new facility, which is located in the municipality of Motilla de Palancar and is due to start operations by early 2020, will involve an investment of approx. 56 million euros and is expected to generate up to 144 GWh per year
- Cuenca is part of the around 900 MW of renewable capacity that the company is currently building in line with Endesa’s effort to decarbonise its generation mix, with the aim to reach 8.4 GW of installed renewable capacity by 2021, for an overall investment of around 2 billion euros
Endesa's renewable company, Enel Green Power España (EGPE), has started construction of its 51 MW wind farm in the municipality of Motilla del Palancar, in Castile-La Mancha’s Cuenca province. The new wind farm, which is the company’s first renewable facility in the region, is expected to be fully operational by early 2020, and its construction will involve an investment of around 56 million euros.
"Endesa is helping to spearhead the energy transition in Spain through significant investments aimed at expanding our renewable capacity in the country,” said José Bogas, Endesa's CEO. “We are working to bring online approximately 900 MW of renewable capacity, highlighting the company's commitment to ensuring that Spain meets its green energy goals.”
The new facility adds to the 519 MW of wind projects that EGPE is building in Aragon, Castile-León, Andalusia and Galicia, out of which 445 MW are part of the 540 MW of wind capacity awarded to the company in the renewable auction held by the Spanish Government in May 2017. EGPE is also building 339 MW of solar capacity awarded in the third renewable energy auction, held in July 2017. The construction of this capacity will involve an investment of over 800 million euros until 2020 and will increase Endesa's current wind and solar capacity by 52.4%.
The growth in the company’s renewable footprint is in line with the effort to decarbonise its generation mix, which involves reaching 8.4 GW of renewable installed capacity by 2021 from the current 6.5 GW, for an overall investment of around 2 billion euros.
Once operational, the Cuenca wind farm is expected to generate over 144 GWh a year, avoiding the annual emission of around 95,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. The plant will consist of 17 turbines with a capacity of 3 MW each.
The construction of the wind farm will be based on Enel Green Power's "Sustainable Construction Site" model, including the installation of solar photovoltaic panels at the site to cover part of its energy requirements. Water-saving measures will also be implemented, such as the installation of water tanks and rainwater collection systems. After construction is completed, both the photovoltaic panels and the water-saving equipment will be donated to the town where the project is located for public usage.
EGPE is using a range of innovative tools and techniques to build Cuenca, such as construction machinery equipped with active safety systems that warn operators to prevent collisions, drones for topographic survey, smart tracking of turbine components, advanced digital platforms and software solutions to remotely monitor and support the operations and commissioning of the facility. These tools and solutions allow accurate and reliable construction data to be gathered quickly, enhancing overall construction quality and facilitating communications between on- and off-site teams.
Endesa currently manages over 6,638 MW of renewable capacity in Spain, of which 4,710 MW come from large hydropower. The remaining approx. 1,928 MW are operated by Endesa’s renewable company Enel Green Power España and consist of 1,750 MW from wind, 79 MW from mini-hydro and 99 MW from other renewable energy sources.