WElink Energy is to construct a 221 MW solar project in Vagueiros, Southern Portugal. When it becomes operational, the project named Solara4 will be the largest unsubsidised solar PV plant in Europe, generating enough power to provide 150,000 homes with electricity.
It will comprise 850,000 solar modules and is expected to employ around 300 people during its construction. The plant is scheduled for completion in mid-2019.
The signing of an EPC contract between WElink, and its longstanding industrial and strategic partner China Triumph International Engineering Co., Ltd (CTIEC) earlier this year meant that construction of the plant could get underway.
The increasing price-competitiveness of solar projects is what has made WElink’s transition to unsubsidized projects possible, alongside it and CTIEC’s ability to optimize the cost of delivery across the chain value.
Furthermore, the favorable location in southern Portugal means that the plant will soak up one of the highest solar irradiation levels in Europe, making solar PV without a subsidy ideal.
WElink Group’s Chief Executive, Barry O’Neill said of the project, “WElink Energy is leading the way in European solar generation. We are delighted to be in a position to commence construction on our flagship Solara4 project, demonstrating that industrial scale clean-energy can be profitable without government subsidies and is a mature technology.”
WElink Energy’s Head of Development for Iberia, Eduardo Aguilar added, “The construction of Solara4 is the result of many months of great team work to deliver this internationally significant unsubsidized project in Portugal. Solara4 is a beacon of WElink Energy’s portfolio and is part of a long-term strategy of development in Iberia. We are excited about both the delivery of this project as well as the additional opportunities Iberia represents.”
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Good news. It would be good to know from reports on such unsubsidised projects how their output is going to be sold: an unsubsidised publicly guaranteed FIT, a long-term PPA with a utility of other private offtaker, or as a merchant project selling directly into the wholesale spot or day-ahead market.