Floating solar park in Alqueva highlights hybrid energy shift in Europe

Portugal’s EDP has unveiled Europe’s largest floating solar park on a reservoir, located at Alqueva in the south of the country. The installation can power about 1,500 households and represents a significant step in hybrid renewable energy, developed with the help of a company based in Alicante that specializes in floating solar structures for markets worldwide.

The project came to life with an investment of six million euros and a single grid connection. The park spans the equivalent of four football fields and houses roughly 12,000 photovoltaic panels. It sits atop Western Europe’s largest reservoir, on the Guadiana River near the Extremadura border, and was assembled in around six months before the park began operating in May. It delivers an installed capacity of five megawatts and includes a storage system capable of two megawatt-hours, enabling short-term energy balancing when solar output dips or demand spikes.

Beyond solar generation, the facility combines hydro resources and battery storage to achieve an annual output of 7.5 gigawatt-hours per year. This hybrid approach contributes to roughly thirty percent of the nearby regional population’s electricity needs, underscoring the role of floating solar in regional energy resilience.

One visual hallmark of this project is its buoyant platform. The buoys are made from a blend of recycled plastic and cork compounds, resulting in a notable reduction in the carbon footprint by around sixteen percent compared to conventional floating systems.

There are ambitious plans for scale. Last year, EDP secured authorization to install an additional 70 MW of floating solar on the same Alqueva site through a competitive auction. The company’s leadership indicates that expansion could push total capacity toward seventy MW, a level that could position the project among the world’s largest when the broader timetable is realized in 2025 and beyond.

Looking forward, EDP is exploring the replication of this floating solar technology in other markets, including Spain and parts of Asia. While Spain has not yet established private auctions for floating solar, the technical feasibility is clear and regulatory frameworks would need to accommodate wider deployment, according to company representatives as the Alqueva park became operational.

Isigenere: Alicante’s role in making the project possible

The panels for the park are supplied by Isigenere, a Castalla-based firm that represents one of several ongoing reservoir and wetland solar initiatives worldwide. Juan Carlos Hernández, the operations and project manager for Isigenere, notes that the panels are manufactured using recycled polystyrene, supporting circularity and reducing the need to extract new materials.

Isigenere currently serves markets across Asia, Africa, and South America, reflecting rising demand for floating photovoltaic installations. Projects have been realized in places such as Kenya, Israel, the Netherlands, Germany, Chile, and Spain, with floating solar parks appearing in multiple European locations as well.

According to Isigenere, their floating system is positioned as a high-quality, durable, and cost-effective option for such installations. The technology is designed to cover water surfaces on ponds, reservoirs, irrigation basins, hydroelectric facilities, water treatment sites, and similar bodies where space is at a premium and water coverage can be leveraged for energy generation.

For a snapshot of the company’s projects, the portfolio includes various sites around the world. The floating system is promoted as a top-tier solution for sustainable energy infrastructure and water management. The company emphasizes that its water-friendly platform is suitable for irrigation, industrial use, and wastewater treatment sites alike, aiming to minimize environmental disruption while maximizing energy output.

Isigenere highlights its ongoing work across continents, with installations in diverse climates and water bodies. The platform is described as a modular, adaptable system that can be configured to different water depths and surface areas, providing scalable solutions for utilities and private developers alike.

The firm stresses its commitment to recycling materials and to reducing the environmental footprint of floating solar deployments. Its approach to design and manufacturing centers on longevity, easy maintenance, and a streamlined supply chain that supports rapid deployment on diverse sites.

Questions and inquiries about current and future projects can be explored through the company’s project portfolio, which showcases a range of floating solar installations. The emphasis remains on combining energy generation with water stewardship to deliver reliable power while preserving aquatic ecosystems.

Additional information and project listings come from the company’s public project catalog, which documents deployments across the globe and highlights the versatility of the floating solar concept in supporting regional energy strategies and sustainable development goals.

Note: Environmental considerations are integral to these initiatives, with emphasis on reducing emissions, managing land use, and maintaining ecosystem integrity as floating solar expands across markets.

End-user inquiries and correspondence related to project environmental stewardship are directed through official channels managed by the company’s environmental division.