The government of the Navarra region of Spain has given its approval for a 160 MW solar project planned by Anpier, the national association of photovoltaic energy producers. The facility will be installed on one of the country’s largest artificial irrigation canals, the Canal of Navarra. According to the report, the proposed project is technically and financially viable because it would significantly reduce shadowing. The proposal is replicable in all channels with similar characteristics that exist in all the autonomous communities of Spain.
The cooling effect of the water is also beneficial to the energy business, as it increases the efficiency of the solar panels themselves. This type of project would help reduce evaporation of water, a scarce and necessary resource for agricultural development in the region. According to the government, evaporative water loss would be reduced by 30 per cent.
In July 2021, Eni, an Italian energy firm, agreed to buy a 1.2 GW renewable energy portfolio in Spain from Azora, an independent real asset management company. Azora’s portfolio included three operational wind farms, one under construction wind farm (for a total of 230 MW), and five major solar power projects in advanced phases of development totalling 1 GW. Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Catalonia, Galicia, and La Rioja are among the assets. Azora and Eni announced that they will work together to get the five solar power projects up and running by 2024, and they’re working on a larger strategic partnership to help Eni grow its renewable energy platform in Spain. It joined the market in February 2021 when it bought 140 MW of PV projects from X-Elio.
