Endesa plans mega-solar farm, storage and H2 at Portuguese coal-fired plant

Spanish utility Endesa SA (BME:ELE) said Friday that it has developed a large-scale renewable energy project for Portugal’s Medio Tejo region, where its Pego coal-fired power plant is nearing the end of production.

The project comes with a firm investment of EUR 582 million (USD 709.1m), which will be used to build a 650-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) farm, 100 MW of battery storage capacity and an electrolyzer to produce 1,500 tonnes of green hydrogen per year, Endesa said.

The company plans to sell the hydrogen to the region’s industrial clients and increase production in later stages.

Endesa has a an ownership stake in the Pego power plant, alongside TrustEnergy, a 50/50 joint venture between France’s Engie SA (EPA:ENGI) and Japan’s Marubeni Corp (TYO:8002). The utility said it would go forward alone with its renewables plan for the area, after the partners exhausted all possibilities to convert the plant into using sustainable forest biomass.

Pego, Endesa's only coal-fired plant in Portugal, will cease production at the end of November 2021.

Endesa will seek to create economic and social benefits for the local populace and create at least 80 long-term employment positions, the same number of direct jobs provided by the Pego plant.

The company said it is now waiting for the Portuguese government to start a selection process to pick a project that will replace Pego.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.218)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!