Spanish renewables developer Iberdrola has signed a PPA with pharmaceutical company Bayer to supply 100% renewable electricity. According to the agreement, Iberdrola will supply clean energy generated by its solar PV Francisco Pizarro plant to nine Bayer sites in Spain. Bayer’s three factories, five research and development (R&D) centres and the company’s headquarters for Iberia will be powered with clean energy.
With an installed capacity of 590MWp, the Francisco Pizarro facility is spread across 1,300ha between the municipalities of Torrecillas de la Tiesa and Aldeacentenera. Claimed to be one of the largest solar facilities in Europe, Francisco Pizarro is expected to become operational next year. Once operational, the plant is expected to annually generate enough clean energy for a population of 375,000 people while offsetting 245,000 tpa of carbon emissions. The ten-year PPA agreement with Bayer will be effective from 2022.
In a separate development, Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis announced the signing of five virtual power purchase agreements (VPPA) with three energy providers: Spain-based Acciona, Portugal-based EDP Renewables and Italy’s Enel Green Power. The electricity will be provided by six renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 275 MW that these companies are currently developing in Spain. The projects are expected to be operational in 2023.
Acciona will build two solar plants totaling 169 MW in Almendralejo, in the province of Badajoz, and in the towns of Jarafuel and Ayora, in the province of Valencia. Around 135 MW of this capacity will be used for the supply of power through a VPPA to Novartis. Both facilities are expected to begin operations in early 2023. Through the Tico Wind Farm, located in Villar de los Navarros, in the province of Zaragoza, Enel Green Power will supply Novartis with 79 MW of sustainable electricity. This project will be operational in early 2022. Furthermore, EDP Renewables, the renewables division of Portuguese power company EDP, will develop a 36 MW wind farm in the province of Zaragoza and a 30 MW solar power plant in the province of Cádiz. With both projects, it is expected to provide a total of 63 MW of renewable electricity and both are planned to be operational by early 2023.
With this, Novartis has become the first pharmaceutical group that is preparing to reach 100% renewable energy in its European operations through virtual energy agreement.
Meanwhile, German PV project developer Enerparc has announced it secured a 30-year PPA with German railway operator Deutsche Bahn. The deal relates to a 90 MW solar power plant in Gaarz in the German northeastern region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Under the terms of the agreement, the solar plant will sell approximately 80 GWh of electricity per year to Deutsche Bahn. The solar park will be built on a 91-hectare area in the first half of next year. The project is being financed by German lender Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB).
