A solar park of 17,4 MWp, with a total of 39.564 panels, annual production capacity of 29.6 GWh of electricity that will supply 8450 homes and avoid the emission of 9.620 tons of CO2 per year, in an area of 28 hectares, representing an investment of 18 million euros.
These are, in short, data from the Paderne Photovoltaic Plant, located in the Escarpão area, which will be the first operation in Portugal, in fact, the first in Europe, outside the UK and Italy, by NextEnergy Capital, a management company investments and assets in the renewable energy sector through the NextPower III fund.
The project was announced this Friday, the 23rd, with the laying of the first stone on the land where the future plant will be built.
Filinto Martins, managing director of the NextPower III fund (NextEnergy Capital), announced that the solar park will begin construction this year and will be operational «in the third quarter of 2021».
"There is some unpredictability regarding the construction time, given the current pandemic situation, which may imply some restrictions on the movement of goods," he added. Therefore, the extended construction period of one year for the plant to come into operation is being advanced.
«This investment in the Paderne Photovoltaic Plant allows NextEnergy to strengthen its global presence and carry out its first operation in Portugal, a country with high growth potential in the production of solar energy and a company's commitment to future investments. On the other hand, no less important, it is a project that contributes to the economic and sustainable development of the Algarve region», said Filinto Martins.
The director general of the NextPower III fund was also keen to stress that «the installation of this park does not have any kind of subsidy from the State. It is entirely private investment, which will get its revenues from the sale of energy to the grid. This park proves that it is possible to install a photovoltaic plant without the need, in terms of revenue, to resort to subsidies or support of a fiscal nature». In fact, he stressed, "this park will have its spill over to the municipality."
The only "risk factor", admitted that responsible, has to do with the volatility of the economic situation. “Electricity sales are unpredictable as, with the Covid-19 pandemic, electricity consumption has dropped. But this is a long-term operation».
José Carlos Rolo, mayor of Albufeira, also present at the laying of the first stone, highlighted the importance of the investment for the municipality, but also for the region and for the country. "We have to look more and more to the potential of our territory, putting ourselves alongside investments like this, which constitute an asset."
The mayor, who confessed his "great sympathy with this type of energy", also revealed that the promoting company will be responsible for installing a photovoltaic power station for self-consumption, at the Fire Department of Albufeira. This equipment is a company offering.
But it is not only at the level of renewable energy production that the project brings benefits. For now, the plant will start to be installed in the Escarpão area, a limestone plateau excavated by quarries and which, for decades, was a site for landfills and landfills. In recent years, this vast area of around 300 hectares has been the target of an environmental rehabilitation and landscape restoration project, not least because it is an important area for infiltration of water from the Querença-Silves aquifer. The installation of renewable energy plants was foreseen in the rehabilitation plan.
In addition, Miguel Ornelas, from the company Azimuth Molecule, one of the promoters of the project, revealed to the Sul Informação, that the studies for the installation of the plant allowed the relocation of the entrance to Algar do Escarpão, a vertical cave with two levels and an active water table.
«We had to try to locate the entrance to the algar, which was thought to have been blocked when the land for the construction of the Marina de Albufeira was placed here. We had to try, but we weren't forced to locate it. But we did that, with the help of a speleologist, who remembered having been there before this was filled with landfill land». The entrance to Algar do Escarpão, he said, will now be protected.
With this project and given the operational and under construction solar assets, the NextPower III investment fund portfolio increases its diversification and reaches 335 MWp of installed capacity, in «close to 200 plants worldwide».
“Our investment strategy is based on acquiring operational or ready-to-build solar energy projects in high-growth markets such as the United States, India, Latin America and Europe,” explained Filinto Martins.
In this case, the project was acquired from the companies Azimuth Molecule and Cardinal Flexible, benefiting from a ten-year energy purchase contract. The plant itself is expected to remain operational for 30 years.
The general director adds that, "due to the conditions of solar irradiation, the Iberian Peninsula is a key market for which we have a defined growth plan, which will allow us to close new investment projects by the end of the year." This one, near Paderne, is the first in the entire Iberian Peninsula. But, as Filinto Martins announced, «by the end of the year we will have at least one more plant in Portugal, perhaps also in the Algarve».
«The Algarve could be the best photovoltaic energy production area in all of Europe. It's even better than the Alentejo", which has the problem of high temperatures, which means that some of the plants installed there "are stopped in the summer".
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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