• EN
  • Solar energy for southern Europe

    STEAG SENS and KGAL building more PV parks on Sicily and in southern Spain

    Würzburg/Essen/Palermo/Madrid. Würzburg-based STEAG Solar Energy Solutions GmbH (SENS) steps up its cooperation with the prestigious investor KGAL: plans for a solar project in Sicily receive another substantial extension in scope. At the same time, SENS is developing, planning and building two more solar parks at locations in southern Spain near the cities of Granada and Almeria.

    If you were to place all the solar modules installed by SENS in Italy and Spain in line one after the other, they would form a continuous causeway of modules from Palermo in northern Sicily to Andalusia in southern Spain. A distance of 3,520 kilometres separates the projects, which are being built on behalf of KGAL GmbH & Co. KG. The major project on Sicily was initially intended to have a total output of 440 megawatts. A little more than 250 MWp is now to be added to the not inconsiderable original capacity. The extension to the contract was approved by the project’s investor KGAL and will raise the solar park’s installed capacity to almost 700 MWp.

    Extended Sicilian project will save half a million tonnes of CO2 annually
    “The capacity is about the equivalent of a large conventional power plant. The PV system will feed more than 1,400 gigawatt hours (GWh) a year into the grid,” says SENS Managing Director André Kremer. SENS, or to be more precise its Italian subsidiary SENS Italia, acts as project developer, EPC and service provider on this project on behalf of KGAL. The project reinforces SENS’ position in the Italian PV business, which has long been an important sales market for the PV expert with its headquarters in Würzburg (Lower Franconia). “Working with KGAL is an absolute pleasure in all respects. Pragmatic, quick and solution oriented – that suits us fine,” says André Kremer.

    Planning and preparation are already well underway, with the start of construction of the first section scheduled for Q3 2021. Whether it is earthworks, supplies, modules or inverters: everything about this project is huge. The same applies to CO2 emissions savings: the plant will save a gigantic 560,000 tonnes of the harmful greenhouse gas. This saving is almost enough to compensate for the average amount of CO2 emitted annually by all the take-offs and landings at Munich Airport.

    SENS and KGAL also cooperate in Spain
    But that is not all: the successful and trusting cooperation between SENS and KGAL has also led to another joint project in southern Spain. Two more solar parks with a total capacity of 40 MWp are to be built at locations near Grenada and Almeria in 2021. “We are thrilled with the commitment and directness of our working relationship. Through its highly solutions-orientated approach, especially in these difficult times brought about by the coronavirus, we see SENS as an ideal partner for future projects,” says Matej Lednicky, Head of Transaction Management at KGAL.

    The development and implementation of the two projects is in the hands of the Spanish subsidiary STEAG Solar Energy Solutions Iberica, which has offices in Madrid and Seville. “As with earlier comparable projects, SENS again put together an all-round carefree package covering all stages from concept development to turnkey handover for our partner KGAL,” says André Kremer. SENS then takes over the operation and maintenance of the plant. The solar parks in this sun-drenched region of Spain will produce up to 84 gigawatt hours (GWh) of green electricity annually.

    Self-declared goals within reach
    The new project in Spain represents a further step in the direction of the SENS goal of 500 MW of installed capacity on the Spanish photovoltaic market. “Based on the excellent progress of recent months, we will reach this figure earlier than expected and be in the happy position of setting another, much higher goal,” says André Kremer concerning the ambitious future plans of the company, and adds “We will probably exceed the 2 GWp mark by 2023.”


    Credit: Photo by Juan Pedro Martinez