European countries have recognized the need to strengthen their energy sovereignty. The race to break away from Russian oil and gas in the short term and reduce dependence on fossil fuels in general, whatever their source, in the medium and long term includes promoting the deployment of renewable energies. But real autonomy depends on having your own renewable industry: it’s not a matter of reliance on gas from Russia to reliance on solar panels from China.
Industry initiatives for this purpose are spreading rapidly across the EU. And in this context, Iberdrola’s project to build a solar panel factory EstremaduraIt has the capacity to meet one-third of all current plate demand in the renewable sector in Spain.
The utility has designed a project to build a factory with a production capacity of 1.6 gigawatts (GW) per year, which is equivalent to producing about three million solar panels each year. The energy company stipulates the viability of the project to obtain funding from the European Union to launch it.
European aid
Iberdrola presented its production plan for photovoltaic panels in Extremadura to the world’s third call. Innovation Fund, program incoming help European Commission for demonstrating innovative technologies for reducing emissions. The company acknowledges that the venture will require European funding to ensure its competitiveness.
The group is the future factory in Extremadura, Net Zero Industry ActA package of measures recently announced by the European Commission to increase the durability and competitiveness of emission-free production technologies in Europe. A program that the EU is trying to counter its influence Inflation Reduction Act United States Government and stop the transfer of investments to the North American market.
“The opening of this new factory in Europe is in response to Iberdrola’s interest in competitive production at European Union level and seeking solutions across the continent to achieve more energy self-sufficiency and less emissions by investing in renewable energy sources, networks, storage and green hydrogen. and supporting the development of innovative industrial companies,” the company emphasizes. Special assistance to Europe for the production of photovoltaic panels They are still awaiting completion and can provide the economic support for the production necessary to make the local production of key components for the energy transition competitive.”
Renewable energy sources in Extremadura
The roadmap for Iberdrola’s solar panel factory project, which will create 500 direct jobs, envisages that a significant portion of production will be located in Extremadura itself. The region is leading the installation of solar power plants, intensifying a quarter of the projects.
Iberdrola has made Extremadura one of the largest expansion pillars in the Spanish market. The company has twenty renewable plants in the region with around 4,000 MW of green capacity (about 2,000 MW at twelve solar plants and another 2,000 MW at eight hydro plants). The plant plans to install more than 2,800 MW in Extremadura by 2025, with an investment of 1,700 million euros.