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Ekienea, a company led by Iberdrola España, obtains environmental authorisation to build the largest photovoltaic park in the Basque Country with 231,000 solar panels
- The renewable facility, developed by Ekienea – a company formed by Iberdrola España (75%), the Basque Government through the Ente Vasco de la Energía (18%), the engineering company KREAN (5%) and the Provincial Council of Álava (2%) – will be located in Armiñón, Álava and will have a total capacity of 125.89 megawatts (MW)
- The investment will amount to €70 M, will create 300 jobs during construction peaks and will include different projects to promote coexistence with biodiversity. The plant will generate clean, local energy to supply around 47,500 homes
Ekienea, a company led by Iberdrola España, has obtained a favourable Environmental Impact Statement for the development of the largest photovoltaic park in the Basque Country. The renewable facility is a project promoted by the company Ekienea, which is 75% owned by Iberdrola España together with the Basque Energy Agency (EVE, the Basque Government's energy agency) (18%), the Provincial Council of Alava (DFA/AFA) (2%) and Krean (Mondragón Group, 5%).
The largest solar park in the Basque Country, which surpasses Ekian, the solar park located in Ribera Baja and inaugurated in 2020 with 24 MW of installed capacity, has planning permission and, when it obtains the rest of the necessary permits, will be located in the municipality of Armiñón in the province of Alava and will have a total capacity of 125.89 megawatts (MW). It will almost triple the current solar generation capacity in the Basque Country, which is close to 50 MW installed on the ground. There are 150 MW on rooftop in self-consumption format.
The company led by Iberdrola España will generate clean, local energy to supply approximately 47,500 households and prevent the release of 12,400 tonnes of CO2 per year into the atmosphere. The planned investment for this photovoltaic project, provided it obtains a long-term sale and purchase contract, will be €70 M.
Ekienea will also have some 231,000 photovoltaic modules and will produce 155 GWh/year, and it is estimated that up to 300 jobs will be created during peak construction periods.
In addition to the jobs needed to build the plant, the start-up – whose plot has been acquired by Ekienea – will create jobs for management and maintenance tasks, to which the economic benefit for the local councils where it is located must be added, as Ekienea will help the economic development of the area.
Ekienea will cover 200 hectares, of which 100 will be occupied by the photovoltaic plant and the other 100 hectares by land earmarked for environmental compensation and preservation of wooded areas.
This new renewable energy facility will be connected to the ST Puentelarrá junction by means of a 17 km 132 kV line and will also be a great opportunity for the visibility of the technological solutions of the Basque companies that will be the driving force behind the project.
Living with biodiversity
The largest photovoltaic plant in the Basque Country, Ekienea, will feature various projects to enhance biodiversity coexistence, including a 150-metre buffer zone from the edge of the lagoon, reforested with oak trees and shrub layers, an ecological corridor reforested with oak trees between the Laguna de Lacorzana and the photovoltaic plant, and a 15-hectare ecological corridor between the Laguna de Lacorzana and the Zadorra River, which will be reforested with ash and alder trees.
The largest photovoltaic plant in the Basque Country, Ekienea, will have different projects to promote coexistence with biodiversity, including a 150-metre buffer strip to be measured from the edge of the lagoon, reforested with gall oak and shrub layer, an ecological corridor reforested with gall oak between the Lacorzana Lagoon and the photovoltaic plant and a 15-hectare ecological corridor between the Lacorzana Lagoon and the banks of the river Zadorra, which will be reforested with ash and alder trees.
Likewise, 3 ponds will be created in areas to be determined in the ecological corridor around the Lacorzana Lagoon and refuges for herpetofauna (accumulation of stones, logs, etc.).
Ekienea includes a proposal for diversified organic farming and livestock husbandry:
- Introduction of sheep farming
- Fruit tree planting
- Bio-intensive horticultural zone (in multi-tunnel and open-air greenhouses)
- Plot of land for fodder crops
