The vice-president of Castilla-La Mancha opens Endesa's first solar plants in the region

• The Minglanilla I and II solar plants will be beacons for sustainability. They will host unique projects such as industrial-scale farming of saffron among the solar panels, and the first insect hotel with the objective of getting into the Guinness Book of Records.

The Vice-President of Castilla-La Mancha, Jose Luis Martínez Guijarro, and Endesa's General Manager of Generation, Rafael González Sánchez, opened Endesa's first solar plants in the region today. These are the Minglanilla I and II plants in the municipalities of Minglanilla and Graja de Iniesta in Cuenca. They were accompanied by the Minister of Sustainable Development in Castilla-La Mancha, José Luis Escudero, the president of Cuenca regional council, Álvaro Martínez Chana, the mayor of Minglanilla, José Luis Hervás Herrera, and Endesa's General Manager of Institutional Relations and Regulation, José Casas Marín.

The pioneering projects that will take place on-site were announced during the opening ceremony for the plants, which have been producing clean electricity since December. Enel Green Power España (EGPE), Endesa's renewable-energy subsidiary, also reaffirmed its commitment to the development of new renewable projects in Castilla-La Mancha, generating clean energy and shared value in the local area.

Endesa's General Manager of Institutional Relations and Regulation, José Casas Marín, emphasised the company's firm commitment to the region at today's event. "Through its renewable-energy subsidiary, Enel Green Power España, Endesa has a portfolio of 1 gigawatt of renewable-energy projects. This is complemented by an additional 900 megawatts acquired from third parties," José Casas Marín said. He also announced: "the development of new projects that will make Castilla-La Mancha a flagship for the sector in Spain, not only for the production of clean energy but also for integrating the primary sector into its activity."

Commitment to Castilla-La Mancha

Endesa's General Manager of Generation announced the details of the company's commitment to development of renewable-energy in Castilla-La Mancha, a region abounding with two renewable resources: sun and wind. Through its renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power España (EGPE), last year Endesa selected Castilla-La Mancha for 8 of the 20 clean energy projects it put into operation in Spain. The company built five solar and three wind facilities in Castilla-La Mancha, with total capacity of 426.5 MW, enough to supply all the homes in Castilla-La Mancha for five months.

These projects have generated 1,400 skilled jobs directly, with 377 million euros of investment in the area. Endesa has expressed its commitment to continue expanding in the region with new projects, several of which are currently under construction, such as the Calatrava and La Revuelta solar plants in Manzanares and the Puertollano solar plants (Encina al Sol, Estrella Solar and Rocinante, the latter of which is in the pipeline).

"The company wants to continue growing, hand in hand with local stakeholders," Rafael González Sánchez said, highlighting the creation of local employment and, above all, the projects developed in parallel involving the primary sector in the area, such as grazing for animals and saffron farming, enabling technology to coexist with these activities.

Minglanilla I and II – employment, social projects and innovation

Endesa has invested 72 million euros in building Minglanilla I and II, with stringent safety standards being applied for the 250 people employed in its construction. These workers, who are mainly local, were involved in skilled work thanks to Endesa's training courses in the region. As a result of this training, 83 unemployed people from the region have obtained official qualifications as solar panel assemblers and for the operation and maintenance of these facilities, opening up career opportunities in the booming renewable-energy sector.

Once the finish touches have been completed, Endesa will donate some of the material used in construction to the local community, such as water tanks, self-consumption panels and defibrillators. These donations are part of the "Sustainable Construction Site" model Enel Green Power España implements for all its construction projects, applying the circular economy to give a second life to the material used.

These donations to the municipalities of Graja de Iniesta and Minglanilla will include two photovoltaic kits, which were used to meet some of the electricity needs during the work, and four defibrillators from the site camp. Graja de Iniesta will also receive drinking troughs for wildlife needs in the area of the plants.

With the aim of integrating these projects into the region, Endesa has collaborated with the "Valle del Cabriel" Association of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias in 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 with these important social projects.

The implementation of energy self-consumption measures in the municipalities of Graja de Iniesta and Minglanilla will be added to these shared-value initiatives. 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 efficiency of consumption.

Integration with the primary sector: sheep, bees, insects and saffron.

Now that the Minglanilla I and II plants are operational, the sheep of Miguel Ángel, a native of Villarta and third-generation shepherd - and the only farmer in the area working with sheep - are already getting to work. The integration of grazing with energy generation is a symbiosis that Endesa is applying in all its facilities, as it allows the natural clearing of the land while the safety of the sheep is guaranteed for their owners, as the enclosures are fenced, and no pesticides are used at the plants.

Continuing this philosophy of integration with the primary sector, Endesa is signing pioneering agreements for growing saffron in some unused spaces inside the perimeter of the plants and even under the panels in some areas. Endesa and the local company Bealar S.L. from Motilla de Palancar, which is a national and international leader in producing and marketing saffron, are rolling out a pilot project to grow saffron with the La Mancha denomination of origin. 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 cultivation will teach people at risk of social exclusion how to work with this product.

Through its renewable-energy subsidiary EGPE, Endesa also promotes the protection and expansion of other species, such as bees, in addition to sheep and saffron. The local company Nómadas de la Miel de Minglanilla, set up by fifth-generation beekeepers who create artisan products from their hives, is working with the Alicante company El Rincón de la Abeja, which specialises in monitoring technical parameters related to the production cycle of bees and their relationship with their environment. Smart beehives will be placed between the solar panels, enabling the temperature of the honeycomb to be controlled while monitoring the volume of honey and even the health of the queen.

Integration of the Minglanilla plants with the local community is being completed with an environmental and educational initiative involving the construction of an insect hotel. The main body of this is currently being completed so it can be filled with suitable materials (such as wood, cardboard, stones and pinecones) to provide homes and food for insects, increasing the biodiversity in the area and establishing basic trophic chains. People who are interested can get involved in this initiative that, over time, aims to become the largest insect hotel in the world and maybe get into the Guinness Book of Records.

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. It also offers value-added services aimed at the electrification of energy usage in homes, companies, industries and public administrations through Endesa X. 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. Our workforce numbers around 9,260 employees. Endesa is a division of Enel, the largest electricity group in Europe.