Iberdrola has secured an environmental approval to build HIDRO Cedillo, a hybrid hydroelectric-solar project in Spain, with a capacity of 86.4MW.

This project is poised to be the first hybrid hydroelectric-solar plant in the country.

To be located in Extremadura, in the municipality of Cedillo, the hybrid plant will optimise grid use while minimising environmental impact. It will feature more than 160,000 photovoltaic modules.

Hybrid projects allow infrastructure such as substations and evacuation lines to be used in a shared manner.

Integrating two separate projects into a single project can also help reduce environmental impact compared to two separate projects. Furthermore, such projects are developed on land, already used for clean energy generation, and enable common roads and facilities to be used for operations.

Two technologies can alternate depending upon changing environmental conditions and limitations of each of the technologies, bringing stable renewable energy generation.

With projects such as these, the company looks to enhance its renewable resource utilisation.

Extremadura is a focal point for Iberdrola’s expansion, with nearly 5.2GW of installed capacity.

This includes 4GW of renewables such as hydroelectric, solar, and battery stations. The region has seen significant progress in solar photovoltaic energy, with the Cedillo, Majada Alta, and San Antonio plants in Cáceres now operational.

In September this year, the company built its first hybrid wind-solar plant in the city of Burgos in Spain, at a cost of over €40m ($44.21m).

The project includes a 74MW solar plant located adjacent to the existing 69MW Ballestas and Casetona (BaCa) wind complex.