- The solar plants of Las Corchas and Los Naranjos, located in Carmona (Seville), have been awarded with this seal in recognition for their best environmental and social integration practices.
- This is the tenth seal awarded by the UNEF, which conducted an independent audit and which recognises the highest standards of social and environmental integration in ground solar energy projects.
The Los Naranjos and Las Corchas solar plants of Endesa's renewable subsidiary in Carmona (Seville) received the Seal of Excellence in Sustainability 2022 from the UNEF today, which recognises the effort of ground solar plants to comply with social and environmental integration criteria.
Therefore, these two renewable plants become Endesa's first projects to be certified after an independent audit conducted by SGS, which has assessed different socioeconomic, biodiversity preservation and restoration and circular economy parameters, in response to the company's commitment to economic, social and environmental sustainability.
The Seal of Excellence in Sustainability was created by UNEF in 2020 to disseminate the best practices of companies operating in the Spanish photovoltaic sector, reinforcing the commitment of the national photovoltaic sector to a sustainable energy transition. In line with this work, the UNEF has become the first entity to design its own global system to certify the sustainability of photovoltaic installations, aimed at any company interested in being certified, whether developers, builders, owners or any other company in the ground solar plant segment.
“We have always ensured that things were done right across the sector, since we believe that our future depends on coexistence and the creation of added value between citizens, regions and their biodiversity and the projects, like a couple with a 30-year life project who treat each other with respect and convinced that what they are doing is the right thing for both of them”, mentioned José Donoso, Managing Director of Unión Española Fotovoltaica (UNEF).
Antonio Moset, Head of Operation and Maintenance of the solar plants of Endesa's renewable subsidiary, Enel Green Power España, mentioned that “to design a renewable facility, we first assess the environmental criteria that go beyond regulations because our philosophy is to share and not compete for land use. The Carmona plants are proof of this, where technicians coexist with shepherds, beekeepers and agrivoltaic crop growers every day, in addition to the ecological oasis created to help repopulate the area with local fauna and flora".
Currently, there are ten solar energy projects that have achieved the UNEF Seal of Excellence in Sustainability. “These ten projects show that there is no source of energy generation that blends best with regions, biodiversity and citizens than solar energy. We are convinced that, thanks to this pioneering certification, what seems the exception will become the norm in the Spanish photovoltaic sector. In the coming years, we are confident that all ground solar energy projects will have and see their excellent social and environmental integration standards recognised", stressed Donoso.
About the projects
Los Naranjos and Las Corchas, located in (Seville), were commissioned by the end of 2020. Together, they have over 250,000 solar panels, nine electrical transformer substations, a substation and a 4.5 km underground cabling network. However, electricity projects are not the only projects being commissioned.
With a 49.94 MW capacity each, 100 MW in total, they generate 202 GWh of solar energy per year, a production equivalent to the consumption of 30,000 homes (the entire population of Carmona), saving 94,000 tons of CO2.
These facilities created up to 300 jobs during the construction phase and some 10 people work are currently working in the facilities, who are also part of a series of interesting and innovative projects.
9 hectares of land were converted in an ecological oasis for these plants. This land used to be a dump and is now being recovered through the application of hydroseeding to improve vegetation cover sowing seeds of herbaceous, grasses, legumes and shrubs, fertilisers, pH correctors, mulch and special additives, which enable the soil to be restored 25% faster than it would using any other planting alternative.
This same land has also been reforested with specimens of trees (stone pines, wild olive trees, mastics and kermes oak), shrubs (palm hearts, myrtles and blackberry) and native aromatic plants, such as rosemary, lavender and thyme-marjoram. The aim is not only to have a plant space that helps preserve local avifauna, but also to provide the bees in Carmona's solar apiary with more sustenance to be able to do their work.
In this installation, Endesa has the first solar apiary in Spain to produce 500 kilos of emission-free honey. It is precisely this apiary managed by a local beekeeper, Juan Ignacio, and his son, fourth and fifth generation of Loramiel, that is participating in an environmental study on the bee population conducted by the El Rincón de la Abeja association. This involved installing 3Bee monitoring systems to determine the number of specimens in the solar apiary, registering biophonies in the areas around the apiary, studying the floral load in the area and creating a map of ecological interaction.
Endesa's solar plants in Carmona also have agrivoltaic plantations between solar panels. The selection of the aromatic plants was made in coordination with experts who made a prior analysis of the terrain, the type of panels and the shadow they cast, including coriander, flax and fennel.
After more than a year in operation, the first results are being obtained, which determine the benefits of the coexistence of crops and solar panels, maintaining the soil humidity to help different species grow and bloom.
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 usage 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-distribución 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.