The Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, met today (Aug 19) in Bilbao with the company's management team and the Executive Committee in their traditional first meeting after the summer, coinciding with the celebration of the Aste Nagusia.
During this event, it was announced that the Ekienea project, the largest solar farm in the Basque Country with a renewable capacity of 100 MW, now has access to the electricity grid. This confirms the commitment to promoting a greener and more sustainable Euskadi by the entities collaborating in the project, such as Iberdrola, the Basque Energy Agency (EVE), the Provincial Council of Alava and Krean (Mondragón Group).
Ekienea extends over 200 hectares, half of which will be occupied by the photovoltaic plant and the rest will be used for environmental compensation and preservation of forest areas. When it comes into operation, the plant will generate clean energy capable of meeting the annual consumption of some 47,000 people, almost tripling the current solar capacity of the Basque Country, and will prevent the emission of 25,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, contributing to the fight against climate change.
Ekienea not only represents a step forward in the Basque Country's energy transition, but also offers a great opportunity for Basque technology companies. The construction of the solar park will generate up to 300 jobs at peak times.
A big step towards decarbonisation
Iberdrola's commitment to the Basque Country is reflected in the tractor effect with Basque companies such as Ingeteam, Arteche, Ormazabal and Haizea Wind. Furthermore, in renewable energy, the company has in the Basque Country, in collaboration with the EVE, the Aixeindar initiative, which is processing wind farms with a capacity of 160 MW in Álava.
The Labraza and Azaceta wind farms in Álava, each with a capacity of 40 MW, are the first wind farms to generate 100% green energy to be commissioned in the Basque Country since 2006. These facilities have already obtained positive environmental impact statements (EIS), their corresponding administrative authorisations (AA) and administrative authorisations for construction (AAC).
Advances in energy storage also make it possible to maximise the renewable energy produced, and the Oiz (Bizkaia) and Elgea-Urkilla (Álava) wind farms are two good examples of the application of these storage batteries, in operation from 2022.
