Construction has started on the 204 MWp Rio Maior solar farmjointly owned by Aura Power and Neoen. The energy park also comprises a secondsolar farm fully owned by Neoen, making the total of 272MWp the largest to bebuilt to date, in Portugal.

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The facility is located in the industrial region of Herdade daTorre Bela, in the municipality of Azambuja, 70 km north of Lisbon. It will connect directly into the REN substation, in Rio Maior, via a dedicated 400kVoverhead line.

The construction will be undertaken by Aldesa, one of the largest construction groups in Spain with energisation expected in 2024.

With a combined production of over 500GWh, the solar farms will provide enough clean electricity to power 110,000 homes. It will also improve connections for wildlife between almost 200 hectares of biodiversity protection areas whilst protecting over 6,000 cork oaks. The solar farms will be screened from view by a tree and shrub curtain that will allow them to blend in with the surrounding landscape.

Simon Coulson, CEO at Aura Power said “This is a major step for Portugal in their decarbonisation journey and we are proud to play a part in it. After securing the joint highest grid capacity in the 2019 auctions, we have worked with Neoen to bring this project forward into construction, supported by the Environment Ministry and local stakeholders. We’d also like to thank the local community for their cooperation and are committing to fund the installation of solar panels on the roofs of a number of municipality buildings.”

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Jorge Fernandes, Portugal Country Manager at Aura Power said “We are grateful for the continued policy support that has allowed Aura Power to develop and invest into the Portuguese energy market. Rio Maior solar farm is one of many solar PV projects we are working on in Portugal and we look forward to continuing supporting Portugal to realise its commendable net zero targets”.

Portugal has an ambitious target to reach 80% clean electricity production by 2026, four years earlier than previously planned.

Some 80% of the renewable energy produced by the solar farm will be purchased by the Portuguese state under two 15 year power purchase agreements which are due to start in 2025. The remaining energy and origin certificates will be sold on the Iberian electricity market pool.

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Aura Power has over 20GW of solar and battery energy storage projects in development across Europe and North America.

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