3,000
floating solar planels
CLEAN, NON-POLLUTING ENERGY
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
1 in 8 people still do not have access to electricity. In order to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, it is necessary to increase the use of renewable energy from 25 % today to 38 % in 2025.
ACCIONA is positioning itself as a key player in addressing the growth in energy demand while curbing the progress of global warming and promoting the transition to a decarbonized energy model.
CLIMATE ACTION
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
The generation and use of energy is responsible for 74 % of total greenhouse gas emissions in the world. This activity is the largest contributor to global warming. Investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other low carbon technologies will continue to be essential to meet the new needs of humanity and to minimise their negative impact on the environment.
ACCIONA considers the fight against climate change and its related effects to be a strategic priority. The Company is working to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute to the progress of society and respond to the main challenges of sustainable development in the areas of infrastructure, water and energy, leading the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The installation is located close to the southern shore of the Sierra Brava reservoir, located in Zorita (Cáceres). Designed to cover around 12,000 m2, the floating solar plant occupy around 0.08 % of the reservoir’s surface area.
The installation will consist of six adjacent floating systems. Each system will have 600 photovoltaic panels with an estimated total capacity of 1.375-megawatt peak (MWp).
The Sierra Brava floating PV plant will study different solar module technologies and configurations in terms of inclination, placing and orientation -among other parameters- together with a variety of flotation structures.
The latest technology installed in the plant consists of a circular structure formed by a thin hydro-elastic membrane on which double-glazed panels are placed. This new technology makes it possible to take maximum advantage of water cooling and allows walking on them, facilitating system maintenance work.
In addition, this membrane has its own mooring and anchoring system to the bottom, which provides greater flexibility and resistance to strong waves and gusts of wind. This is what allows, in addition to simplifying its mooring system to the bottom in dams and reservoirs, the floating photovoltaic solar energy can make the leap to the sea.
The project include environmental measures such as the installation of signage on the natural resources in the area around the reservoir, the installation of marker buoys to mark out the regulatory navigable areas, and the provision of nesting boxes and floating islands to encourage the nesting of certain bird species.
Environmental monitoring will be an important aspect, particularly on birdlife in the area, with the dual aim of protecting birds and studying their interaction with this kind of installation.
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Location: Zorita y Alcollarín, Cáceres (España)
- Total peak capacity: 1.375 MWp
- Technology: Floating photovoltaic
- Start-up: 2020
- Ownership: ACCIONA
KEY POINTS
- First grid-connected floating photovoltaic solar plant in Spain
- Total capacity: 1.375 MWp
- Clean energy equivalent to consumption of 1.000 households
- It covers 12.000 m2, occupying around 0.08 % os the Sierra Brava reservoir
- 3,000 floatinf photovoltaic modules
- 6 different solar panel technologies and flotation structures
- The project receives funding from the Spanish Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI)
Key figures
1.375
megawatts of peak power
1,000
equivalent households
3,000
photovoltaic panels
3,800
tons of CO2 into the atmosphere avoided
0.08 %
percentage of reservoir occupied
6
different technologies
Sierra Brava floating photovoltaic plant
Experience | ACCIONA
Solar panels on the water
We are used to seeing solar panels on the roofs of houses or on large expanses of land, but not on reservoirs.
LATEST PRESS RELEASES
Read the latest newsACCIONA EnergÍa extends Sierra Brava solar floating plant
ACCIONA Energía has installed a new photovoltaic floating system at the Sierra Brava reservoir