Endesa commissions its first solar farms in Castille-la mancha, accompanied by pioneering initiatives with local communities

Image of the first solar farms in Castille la Mancha.
  • These facilities will feature pioneering initiatives, such as a solar apiary, paths for grazing between solar panels, saffron growing spots between solar panels and an insect hotel that aims to qualify as a Guinness World Record.
  • Minglanilla I and II will produce 175 GWh per year, i.e., the annual energy consumption of Albacete and Cuenca combined.
  • In the province of Cuenca, Endesa's renewable energy subsidiary, Enel Green Power España, has recently commissioned the Campillo II and III wind farms, and is completing the construction of Campillo I, while continuing to develop projects that combine renewable energy production and the creation of social value.

Today, Endesa, through its subsidiary Enel Green Power España, inaugurated its first solar farms in Castile-La Mancha. These are the Minglanilla I and II solar farms built in Minglanilla and Graja de Iniesta (Cuenca), which will become a benchmark thanks to the sustainability initiatives that will be implemented once these solar farms are commissioned.

Minglanilla I and II not only produce clean energy, but pioneering projects will be rolled out in these solar farms, such as growing saffron between solar panels, the installation of a solar apiary that uses the latest innovations and the insect shelter that will be developed with the help of nearby schools, associations and companies, which aims to qualify as a Guinness World Record.

"Castile-La Mancha is a land rich in resources for the generation of renewable energy, and Endesa aims to be part of the development of this technology in the region. We are committed to different projects that will achieve 1 GW of installed capacity and there are planned investments worth around 1,000 million euros" stated aid Rafael González, General Manager of Generation at Endesa. He stressed that "these developments combine wind and solar technology with social projects that can create value in the areas where we roll them out".

The Minglanilla I (49.87 MW) and Minglanilla II (49.81 MW) solar farms are the first that use this technology to be commissioned by the company in Castile-La Mancha. These solar farms will have an annual production of 175 GWh per year, equivalent to the energy consumption of Albacete and Cuenca for one year, also preventing the atmospheric emission of approximately 143,000 tons of CO2.

 

Innovative employment practices and projects

Endesa has invested 72 million euros in the construction of these new renewable energy infrastructures in which safety has prevailed, achieving zero accidents, in collaboration with local companies throughout the works, employing more than 250 people during the construction phase, promoting the local employability of unemployed people in the Region of La Manchuela Conquense. To achieve this, Endesa has given training courses in solar panel assembly and operation and maintenance of solar installations as part of the framework of its Creation of Shared Value plan, which will benefit 83 unemployed people in the region and its surroundings, thus boosting employment in a sector that is increasingly booming and for which specialised personnel are needed.

And with the aim of integrating these projects in the region, Endesa has also collaborated with the Association of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias "Valle del Cabriel" of Minglanilla through its renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power España. The Association's members have helped assemble the fastening elements on the solar power modules. Endesa has donated 20 laptops to help them with their important social projects.

In addition to these laptops, Endesa will also be donating part of the materials used during the project to the local community. In this regard, the 2 photovoltaic kits used to cover part of the energy needs during the project and 4 of the site camp defibrillators will be donated to the municipalities of Graja de Iniesta and Minglanilla. In addition, drinking fountains will also be donated to Graja de Iniesta, to help them cover the water supply needs of the wildlife in the plant environment. All of these materials are used as part of Enel Green Power España's "Sustainable Construction Site" model in all of its constructions sites.

The implementation of energy self-consumption measures in the municipalities of Graja de Iniesta and Minglanilla will be added to these donations. Endesa, through its subsidiary Endesa X, will analyse the energy consumption of the main municipal buildings to develop an energy saving strategy and increase the consumption efficiency.

Pioneering partnerships with the local community will become effective after the commissioning of the solar farms, aimed at developing primary sector initiatives that allow land use sharing. In this regard, Endesa and the local company Bealar S.L., based in Motilla de Palancar, a national and international benchmark in the production and marketing of saffron, will be responsible for rolling out a pilot project to grow saffron with the denomination of origin of La Mancha. A mentoring initiative will also be included in the project, through Generación Savia, in which people over the age of 50 with experience in this type of traditional crop-growing sector will protect the use of the product, employing people at risk of social exclusion.

Smart hives will also be installed under the solar panels. The local company Nómadas de la Miel, based in Minglanilla, will apply the latest innovations by installing sensors to monitor the parameters that have an impact on the bee production cycle, in collaboration with the fifth generation of beekeepers who develop different products from their with traditional methods.

In addition to the bees, sheep will also be allowed to graze the land, thanks to the extensive grazing procedures allowed within the perimeter of the photovoltaic plants. Miguel Ángel is the third generation of shepherds from Villarta and the only person in the area working with sheep. His sheep will now graze among the solar panels of Endesa's plants, allowing the natural clearing of the land.

All of these projects make Endesa's solar farms pioneers in the integration of the primary and technological sectors, and will be the path that the company will follow with regards to the development of renewable energy projects in Castile-La Mancha.

Through its renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power España, Endesa operates the wind farms of Motilla and Campillo II and III in Cuenca, and Caldereros, Peña and Picazo in Guadalajara, all in Castile-La Mancha. The Campillo I wind farm and the two solar farms commissioned today in Minglanilla and Motilla del Palancar will be fully commissioned before the end of the year. In addition, Endesa has 4 solar farms currently under construction:  Calatrava and La Revuelta in Manzanares and Encina al Sol and Estrella Solar in Puertollano. Endesa is also completing the necessary procedures to start the construction of the Rocinante photovoltaic plant in Puertollano, which will begin in 2023, and the El Clavel plant in Montealegre del Castillo, for which the necessary procedures are currently being completed.

Furthermore, Endesa will maintain its commitment to Castile-La Mancha with the hybridisation of existing plants and new developments in future capacity tenders.

 

About Endesa 

Endesa is the largest electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. The company is also the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. Endesa operates an end-to-end generation, distribution and marketing business. Through Endesa X, it also offers value-added services aimed at the electrification of energy use in homes, companies, industries and Public Administrations. A new business line has also been created, Endesa X Way, fully dedicated to electric mobility. Endesa is firmly committed to the United Nations SDGs and strongly supports the development of renewable energies through Enel Green Power España, the digitalisation of grids through e-distribution, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The Endesa Foundation is also active in CSR-related matters. Our workforce numbers around 9,260 employees. Endesa is a division of Enel, the largest electricity group in Europe. 

 

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