Sonnedix, a Spanish renewable energy producer, has begun construction of the 149MW Douro solar plant in Portugal, its first project in the country.
Located in Tarouca municipality in the Viseu district of northern Portugal, the Douro project will further strengthen the company's presence in the Portuguese market and the Iberian Peninsula.
Sonnedix has awarded the solar plant’s engineering, procurement and construction contract to Zagope, a Portuguese EPC contractor.
It will be connected to a 14km-long, 220kV transmission line to be built by CME.
Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
The project will generate 234.5 gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually, enough to power 78,000 Portuguese homes while preventing 35,000 metric tonnes of CO₂ emissions every year.
The company entered the Portuguese market in 2022 with the acquisition of a portfolio of solar projects across the country.
Sonnedix CEO Axel Thiemann stated: “The start of construction of this project is a milestone in our growth strategy for Portugal and Europe. We entered this market at the end of 2022 with over 250MW of solar capacity to develop, and today we announce the beginning of construction of our largest solar PV project across our entire European portfolio.
“It is the first of many projects in Portugal, which is a key market in helping us become a true leader in the energy transition as we continue to expand our portfolio of renewable energy projects throughout the Iberian Peninsula.”
In July 2023, Italian company Enel’s Chilean unit struck a $550m (€521.89m) deal to sell four solar plants totalling 416MW to Sonnedix.
The solar plants include the 36MW Diego de Almagro, the 97MW Carrera Pinto, the 79MW Pampa Solar Norte and the 204MW Domeyko. These four projects generate one terawatt-hour of clean energy.
