The first Spanish Agri-PV project by BayWa re and VELUX is already operational

In November 2022, the VELUX Group and BayWa again announced a PPA to build two large solar farms in southern Spain: one in Gerena near Seville and the other in Alhendín near Granada. Alhendín Farm was recently completed and now supplies electricity to the local grid.

With Alhendín fully operational, VELUX has achieved its goal of 100% renewable energy generation, while enabling the construction of a new renewable energy power plant in Europe. The farm consists of over 85,000 solar panels and produces 96.8 GWh of electricity per year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 24,700 households.

The Alhendín Photovoltaic Farm is a pioneering Agri-PV installation, combining renewable energy production and agriculture: approximately 10% of the farm is designed to allow agricultural machinery to pass between the photovoltaic panels. This is the first project of this type for BayWa re in Spain.

“The completion of the Alhendín solar farm and its connection to the Spanish electricity grid is a great achievement, enabling VELUX to meet its renewable energy targets,” said Kim Jonas, Director of Energy and Climate, VELUX Group. “The agriculture and biodiversity elements of the project align well with our dual focus on climate action and improving biodiversity. In cooperation with BayWa re, we are currently implementing the concept of solar symbiosis, which aims to integrate photovoltaic farms with nature and the community for mutual benefit.

“We are pleased to support VELUX in achieving its goal of 100% renewable energy for its European operations. This achievement represents an important milestone in BayWa re’s commitment to supporting the enterprise energy transition, which is critical to achieving global climate goals. We work with VELUX to go beyond the usual standards, which allows us to implement pioneering elements such as Agri-PV, as well as improve biodiversity and support community engagement, to maximize local value creation,” added Daniel Gäfke, global project director and member management board of BayWa re

Symbiosis of solar plants

The solar symbiosis includes a set of measures aimed at increasing biodiversity and supporting community engagement. The project is currently being developed in cooperation with two Spanish universities, Universidad de Córdoba and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

So far, the scope of Solar Plant Symbiosis includes the following additional activities:

Baseline research, digitization and monitoring of vegetation.

Pilot Agri-PV system and rainwater collection system

Planting grass using natural seeds and wild flower species

Wildlife sanctuaries, amphibian ponds, birdbaths, nesting boxes and posts

A breeding area designed to protect the endangered kestrel bird species

Improving steppe habitats

Monitor and evaluate activities to create a guide to best practices that can be replicated in other projects

Community activities in the area, such as workshops with local interest groups and educational visits to schools

Looking to the future

These activities at the Alhendín farm will be implemented step by step and are expected to be fully implemented by spring 2025. The Gerena solar farm is awaiting local regulatory approval and is scheduled for completion in 2025. The performance of the Gerena farm is expected to will be approximately 60 MWp.

When fully operational, both solar power plants will generate 167 GWh of renewable energy per year for VELUX, equivalent to the electricity consumption of approximately 45,000 European homes. Approximately 80% of the electricity produced at the power plants will be produced through PPAs with VELUX. The PPA will reduce the VELUX Group’s carbon footprint by approximately 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) from the company’s European operations and activities.

More news and technical articles from the global renewable energy industry can be found in the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global Spring 2024 issue

The Spring 2024 issue of Energy Global begins with guest commentary from Field on how battery storage can serve as a viable solution to reduced energy consumption, before moving on to a regional report by Théodore Reed-Martin, editorial assistant at Energy Global, looking at the state of renewable energy sources in Europe. This issue also includes a number of technical articles on electrical infrastructure, turbine and blade monitoring, battery storage technology, coatings and more.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/solar/29052024/baywa-re-and-veluxs-first-spanish-agri-pv-project-now-operative/