Utility Iberdrola is submitting a plan to build 550MW of subsidy-free wind and solar to replace the group’s last Spanish coal-fired power plants.
Speaking at the opening of the COP25 UN climate summit in Madrid, Iberdrola group chairman Ignacio Galan said the renewables projects would replace two coal generators that are scheduled to be decommissioned next year.
The proposal, to be presented on Monday to Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition, would see 420MW of new wind and PV deployed in Velilla in the province of Palencia, and four wind farms with a joint capacity of 130MW in Lada, in Asturias, both in the country’s north.
The new renewables capacity – due online in 2022 – will be underpinned by power purchase agreements (PPAs), reflecting the strong appetite for such deals in the Spanish renewables market and the competitiveness of wind and solar, Iberdrola told Recharge.
With a combined capacity of 874MW, Velilla and Lada are Iberdrola’s last remaining coal-fired power plants. An application for their phase-out was filed in 2017 and the Spanish government is expected to give a final ruling on the matter next year.
“Over the course of 15 years, Iberdrola will have completed the process of phasing out a total of over 8.5GW of coal-fired and fuel oil power generation capacity in several countries,” said Galan.
More: Iberdrola launches huge renewables plan for coal wind-down in Spain