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Iberdrola has obtained a positive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the photovoltaic plant in Puertollano which will supply energy to the first and also the largest green hydrogen production plant to be launched for industrial use in Europe.

The renewables project, with 100 MW of installed capacity, brings together several innovative elements, both from a technological point of view and in terms of storage capacity:

• The installation will have bifacial panels which have never been used before in company projects and which allow for greater production since they have two light-sensitive surfaces, meaning that the installation will have a longer useful life;
• The plant has been designed with cluster or “string” inverters, which improve the yield and allow better use of the surface area;
• The project will have a storage system, which will facilitate plant management. The battery system (with a power of 5 MW) will have a storage capacity of 20 MWh.

With a total investment of 150 million EUR, including the photovoltaic plant, the storage system and a 20 MW electrolyser, the project will create 700 jobs.

The project is planned to come into operation in 2021 and, once this happens, it will prevent the emission of 39,000 tCO₂/year and the clean energy generated will be used to produce green hydrogen for the Fertiberia group's plant in the town, thereby making it the first European company in its sector to be able to produce green fertilisers.

Further information: Key data on Europe's most ambitious green hydrogen innovation project.

The Puertollano green hydrogen plant project will be the first in an ambitious initiative, developed within the framework of the alliance between Iberdrola and Fertiberia to place Spain at the forefront of green hydrogen in Europe, with the installation of 800 MW of electrolysis by 2027 and a total investment of 1.8 billion euros. During its construction, the complete project could promote the generation of 4,000 jobs through 500 local suppliers.

With this plan, Iberdrola would put into operation the equivalent of 20% of the national target, which envisages the installation of 4 GW of green hydrogen by 2030, and would ensure that around 25% of the hydrogen currently consumed in Spain does not generate CO₂ emissions.

Green investments to promote the recovery of the economy and employment

Iberdrola is convinced that the energy transition can act as a key vector in the transformation of the industrial fabric and the green recovery of the economy and employment. With this in mind, Iberdrola has launched a historic investment programme worth €75 billion for 2020-2025, 14.3 billion of which will go to Spain, with the aim of doubling its renewable capacity and taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the energy revolution that the world's major economies are facing.

In Castilla-La Mancha, Iberdrola operates 2,229 MW of renewable energy, mainly wind, which places it as the autonomous community with the third highest ‘green’ megawatts installed by the company. In the region, together with Puertollano (100 MW), it will develop three further photovoltaic projects, with an installed capacity of 150 MW, in Cuenca and Toledo.

After 20 years promoting the energy transition in Spain, Iberdrola leads in renewable energy in the country, with an installed renewable capacity exceeding 16,700 MW in September 2020 - an amount that rises to more than 33,000 MW worldwide, making its generation facilities among the cleanest in the energy sector.

With CO₂/kWh emissions already two-thirds below the European average, the investment strategy in networks and clean energy will make Iberdrola a “carbon neutral” company in Europe by 2030.