Cuerva successfully concludes photovoltaic development operations with the British fund Foresight Solar
The project involves six solar developments with a total peak capacity of 467 MW located in the southern and eastern regions of Spain.
Granada, 20/04/2023. The shared experience between the Granada-based energy company and the British investment fund has given rise to an agreement that strengthens the commitment of the partners to invest in renewables in Spain.
Cuerva, Granada’s leading company in the fields of renewable energy, energy transformation and associated services across the entire energy value chain, sees this agreement as the result of a strategic investment known as “Project Lynx”, led by Foresight Solar Fund Ltd, that consists of a series of solar farms in the development stage. Two of the projects have applied for grid connection and one, with a capacity of 57 MWp, has already obtained grid access and is expected to be ready to begin construction works in 2024. Foresight is an investment firm based in Jersey that specialises in solar panels and battery storage assets.
And this recent agreement for nearly 500 MWp of renewable energy is not the only one managed by Cuerva in conjunction with the British fund. The development known as the “Lorca Project” – a complex of photovoltaic solar installations located between the municipal districts of Ventas de Huelma, La Malahá and Escúzar in Granada with a total capacity of 98.47 MWp that provides green energy to over 50,000 families in the area, was brought to a successful conclusion in late 2020. It consists of the Los Llanos (49.05 MWp), Las Salinas (29.69 MWp) and Los Picos (19.73 MWp) solar plants. The partners intend to foster photovoltaic solar energy as an alternative source of energy production, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in electricity generation and consequently and improve the quality of supply and of the lives of the residents in the target area.
Senior managers from Cuerva (Ignacio Cuerva, Javier Martín and Moisés Garrido, CEO, CFO and COO respectively) visiting the Lorca complex along with Foresight executives during the visit by the Government Delegate in Granada.
The Granada-based company’s extensive renewable project portfolio
Ácula is not the only photovoltaic project the company has been working on this year. We are currently starting construction of three distributed-generation photovoltaic solar plants (Hoyas Grandes I, II and Serrano PVSPs) which, combined with Ácula, have a total peak capacity of approximately 20 MW. Cuerva's effective role as developer, constructor and operator of renewable generation projects specialising in various technologies, coupled with its networking capacity with other companies and institutions will grow this joint-venture portfolio in the coming months.
Cuerva has also achieved milestones in the development, construction, operation and maintenance of renewable assets on the international stage. The San Lorenzo hydroelectric power plant in the province of Chiriquí in Panama was connected to the national grid in 2014. It generates 38.5 GWh per year of renewable energy with a maximum power output of 8.7 MW. It is currently the largest asset in Cuerva's portfolio in terms of capacity and production and was the company's most recent power plant. And while on the subject of South America, we must not forget the Nueva Granada hydroelectric power plant in Cuzco, Peru. Once completed it will have a capacity of 17.5 MW to take the record in Cueva’s development portfolio from the Panama power station.
We return to our roots this year after a long wait with construction of the new hydroelectric power plant at the Rules dam in Granada. Harnessing the Rules dam to generate electric power will help protect the environment by preventing the emission of approximately 11 million kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) per annum into the atmosphere. The estimated hydroelectric power production will be at least 22 GWh, the equivalent to the power required to supply 7,250 households according to the latest data from the Government of Andalusia.
Spain can now generate enough green energy to supply 100% of its electricity demand.
The country installed more photovoltaic power in 2022 than ever before. Solar energy is setting new records, even surpassing the traditional hydro-electric power. According to the Spanish National Grid, at the end of last year solar energy production was 33% higher than the previous year and 3,400 megawatts of new capacity were connected to the grid in addition to an expected 2,000 megawatts of self-supply. This sets a new all-time record of capacity installed in a single year.
Increased foreign investment.
In recent years various international investors such as Foresight have acquired significant minority stakes in Spanish companies with extensive experience in the development, construction and operation of global assets to provide the necessary financing to commission ongoing construction projects.
*Header photo: Camino de Ácula Photovoltaic Solar Plant developed, constructed and commissioned by Cuerva
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