• A 24 MW solar power plant in Basque has been commissioned with a  total investment of €24 million
  • The plant has been grid connected and is already operating at 90% of its peak capacity
  • It has been promoted by EVE and Krean Group and is owned by 26 local companies that have invested in the project
  • It has deployed 67,000 solar panels with 355 W capacity each with an aim to generate around 40,000 MWh of clean power annually

Basque province in northern Spain has become home to its largest solar power plant with 24 MW capacity. The system has been commissioned in the Arasur Industrial Estate by Energiaren Euskal Erakundea or Basque Energy Entity (EVE) and engineering firm Krean Group, the promoters of the Ekian Solar Power Project. The project has participation of 26 local Basque companies from various sectors at various levels, including Iberdrola.

Built with an investment of €24 million ($26.4 million) in a public private partnership model, the Ekian project in Ribera Baja municipality doubles the installed power of the region, says EVE.

The grid connected plant uses 67,000 solar panels of 355 W each and is expected to generate around 40,000 MWh of clean power annually, sufficient for the annual electricity requirements of close to 15,000 families. Currently, the plant is producing power at 90% of its peak and is expected to achieve 100% gradually.

EVE says under the Energy Strategy of the Basque government, solar PV currently accounts for 1.4% of the total renewable energy consumption. It aims for this share to increase to 4.4% by 2030 with an installed capacity of 293 MW.

A European network of regional and local agencies working on energy and environment policies, Fedarene says on its website that EVE and Krean created a structure of 1 MW packages whose shares were bought by 20 private companies in its first phase.

Overall, Spain was Europe’s star solar performer in 2019, installing 4.57 GW (DC) or 3.97 GW (AC) (see Spain Installs About 4.6 GW DC New Solar In 2019).