Castillo de Canena has presented a new floating photovoltaic plant in addition to the one already installed on the ground in 2022, which marks a significant step forward in the company’s policies of environmental sustainability, decarbonisation and energy autonomy. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by the President of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno; the Regional Minister for Industrial Policy and Energy, Jorge Paradela; the Regional Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Carmen Crespo; the Regional Minister for Health and Consumer Affairs, Catalina García, and the Mayor of Úbeda, Antonia Olivares.
The construction of this pond has been entrusted to the Jaén-based company ‘Intelec’, part of the Vialterra Group, which has more than 20 years of experience in the renewable energy sector. This photovoltaic plant is located on the ‘Conde de Guadiana’ estate and took six months to assemble.
In his speech, the President of the ‘Junta de Andalucía’ stated that this plant represents the company’s commitment to the environment, while at the same time indicating that photovoltaic solar energy for self-consumption is helping to reverse the energy dependence on fossil fuels, thus minimising the economic impact of the price of energy. In addition, Juanma Moreno has assured that “As a result of the energy crisis, many companies have been economically suffocated by the high price of energy. So much so that we had to urgently approve a powerful aid package of more than 200 million euros to mitigate this problem“.
The photovoltaic plant designed has 1,812 monocrystalline photovoltaic modules of 550 WP and 8 inverters of 100 KTL, adding up to a total power of 1MW. This plant has a surface area of 6,400 square metres and an inclination of 5º, which can be extrapolated to the size of a football pitch. Thus, the energy generated by the plant will be 1.8 GWh/year, which avoids the emission of 830 tonnes of CO2/year, equivalent to the consumption of almost 500 average-sized homes in Spain.
In this sense, Castillo de Canena states that this project not only aims to contribute to the reduction of the group’s carbon footprint, which has been audited externally and internally since 2011, but also to generate annual savings of approximately 100,000 euros in electricity bills. Consequently, the installation of this plant on a sheet of water has managed to preserve 120 adult olive trees, avoiding their pruning. Similarly, savings in evaporation of almost 7,000 cubic metres of water per year have been achieved, improving the company’s water footprint. Moreover, this photovoltaic plant has an additional benefit, as it will eliminate the need to apply algaecides to the pond water.
Ultimately, the company concluded, “This project not only reinforces Castillo de Canena’s commitment to environmental sustainability, but also highlights its leadership in implementing responsible energy solutions in the region“.
