Fernando Pessoa photovoltaic power plant

The Fernando Pessoa photovoltaic plant in Portugal is set to become the largest photovoltaic project in Europe and the fifth largest in the world. It will be located in the municipality of Santiago de Cacém, near Sines, a logistics hub in southern Europe, and will have Prosolia Energy as a partner. With 1,200 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity, it will be an example of strict compliance with all environmental standards.

The plant, named Fernando Pessoa in homage to the renowned Portuguese poet will supply clean, cheap, locally generated energy to cover the annual needs of some 430,000 households, a population equivalent to almost twice the population of Porto.. The facility, whose grid connection has already been contracted with the Portuguese operator REN, will avoid the consumption of 370 million cubic metres of gas each year, which would have been needed to produce the same amount of energy in a combined cycle.

The land that will house the project has already been secured, and construction will generate up to 2,500 jobs, mostly filled by local workers. Thus, the project includes a Socio-Economic Actions Programme that includes measures such as professional training in the field of energy or support for the tourism sector, as well as providing solar energy to nearby communities.

An example of respect for environmental heritage

The plant will be an example of new renewable developments coexisting with environmental heritage and local communities. The land will be used by local shepherds as pasture for local sheep and beehives will be introduced, which will help to improve ecosystem stability and boost crop yields in the surrounding farmland. In addition, planting will be carried out in the area surrounding the facility to replace the eucalyptus trees with indigenous trees.

Iberdrola, world leader in renewable energies

At Iberdrola, we dare committed to renewable energy more than two decades ago as a fundamental pillar on which to build our safe, clean and competitive business model. Thanks to this vision, we are today world leaders in renewables, reaching 44,148 MW of clean energy in operation at the end of september 2024.

This commitment is reflected in our Strategic Plan, in which we will allocate €15.5bn gross to renewables. More than half of this amount is focused on offshore wind in the US, UK, France and Germany; 28% on onshore wind and 18% on solar.