Picture-postcard view
Moves are underway to build three giant solar power plants
The final stages of €1.7million improvements are being carried out by the council at one of Benidorm’s most popular vantage points – the cross.
ENERGY giant Iberdrola is planning to build three massive solar energy plants in the Valencia region at a cost of €235 million.
Two of them have been earmarked for the Ayora-Cofrentes valley in inland Valencia province and a third for the municipality of Villena in Alicante, near the village of La Encina.
According to Iberdrola, the new infrastructure for producing green energy will create 1,450 jobs, ‘contributing to the reactivation of the economy in these areas’.
When completed the plants will be able to supply 450 megawatts (MW) of energy which the multinational company states is enough to supply 220,000 homes.
An Iberdrola spokesman noted that this will prevent the emission of 140,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
He noted that licences for the construction of the plants are currently being processed. They will also build the infrastructure necessary to transport the energy, which includes substations and power lines.
These will be the first solar power plants constructed by Iberdrola in the Valencia region, although the company produces around 2,000MW of renewable energy via the hydroelectric station at the Cortes-La Muela reservoir on the River Júcar in Valencia province.
The company has said it is investing some €14 billion in the period 2020-2025 in Spain in order to double its capacity to produce renewable energy. The spokesman said that this will help with the ‘green transformation’ of the economy.