The new solar farm consists of 285 331 solar modules capable of supplying renewable power to 71 000 homes – approximately 177 500 people. This will help avoid the emission of nearly 107 600 tpy of CO2, or the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide as that absorbed by 13.5 million trees.
The construction of Kappa has provided the region with a significant economic boost, creating 400 locally-sourced jobs throughout the various stages of development. More than half of the workers have come from the town of Manzanares and its surroundings.
Repsol's Executive Managing Director of Client and Low-Carbon Generation and Chair of Repsol Electricidad y Gas, María Victoria Zingoni, participated in the inauguration ceremony at Kappa alongside the Regional Minister for Sustainable Development in Castile-La Mancha, José Luis Escudero, the Mayor of the town of Manzanares, Julián Nieva, and other institutional representatives.
"This milestone represents yet another step toward our goal of becoming a net zero emissions company by 2050," María Victoria Zingoni said during the event. "It is an important project for the region of Castile-La Mancha, for Manzanares, and for Repsol, in an autonomous region where we foresee further development of our commitment to a multi-energy model," Zingoni added.
The new PV solar power farm in Manzanares serves to consolidate Repsol as a multi-energy leader in Castile-La Mancha and the province of Ciudad Real. Through its industrial complex in Puertollano, the company is already one of the primary drivers of economic growth in the region. As this complex evolves into a multi-energy hub in alignment with the company’s 2021 - 2025 Strategic Plan, Repsol plans to invest approximately €700 million in decarbonisation and circular economy projects in the Spanish municipality of Puertollano over the next five years. The company also boasts a network of over 300 service stations in Castile-La Mancha and more than 43 000 power and gas retail customers.
Low-emission power generation
Kappa is one of the seven renewable energy projects that Repsol is developing on the Iberian Peninsula. It bolsters the company's role as an important producer of low-carbon power. Repsol's total installed capacity is currently 3386 MW, with another 2549 MW in various stages of development.
Repsol is developing two other solar projects in Spain: Valdesolar, with 264 MW in the western province of Badajoz, and Sigma, with 204 MW in the province of Cadiz in the southwestern part of the country.
In the realm of wind power, Repsol recently broke ground on the first wind parks of the Delta II project in Aragon, Spain – its largest renewables project to date, with 860 MW. This capacity will be added to that of the existing Delta wind farm, with 335 MW. Additionally, the company is developing the Pi project in the provinces of Palencia and Valladolid in the northern region of Castile-Leon, Spain, with a capacity of 175 MW.
On the Iberian Peninsula, Repsol is also part of the WindFloat Atlantic project, the world's first semi-submersible wind farm, through a consortium with EDPR, Engie, and Principle Power. With capacity of 25 MW, WindFloat is fully operational and producing power off the coast of Portugal.
International expansion
Repsol has continued advancing toward its goal of becoming a major international player in low-emission power generation. In May, Repsol announced it was entering the renewables market in the US with the purchase of 40% of Hecate Energy, a company that specialises in PV solar projects and battery energy storage. Hecate Energy has an extensive portfolio of projects totalling more than 40 GW.
Also, as part of this international expansion, in July 2020, Repsol signed an agreement with the Ibereólica Renovables Group giving the company access to a portfolio of projects in Chile that are already in operation, under construction, or under development. The total pipeline amounts to more than 1600 MW by 2025, with the possibility of exceeding 2600 MW in 2030.
With all these projects, Repsol is advancing its goal of becoming a net zero emissions company by 2050. It aims to achieve this by following a roadmap with a target of 7500 MW of low-emissions generation capacity by 2025 and double that by 2030.
