The Barcos Solar Photovoltaic Plant, located in the parish of Cernache, will be built by Aquila Clean Energy, Aquila Capital's renewable energy platform in Europe, which develops and operates renewable energy projects in the area of solar energy and wind.

The solar power plant, scheduled for operation in 2024, “will increase the capacity to generate green energy in the municipality of Coimbra and will avoid the emission of a total of 57,000 tons of CO2 every year, thanks to a production of 71 GWh of renewable energy per year”, said the company in a statement sent to Lusa.

Positive impact

“Our ambition is to play a key role in Portugal's energy transition and accelerate the decarbonisation of the economy in a sustainable way. Therefore, this project is a new step in creating this positive environmental and social impact that we want to have in the regions where we operate”, stressed Manuel Fonseca e Silva, from Aquila Clean Energy in Portugal, quoted in the statement.

The company's mission at the Barcos plant "is also composed of the preservation of biodiversity and local heritage, characteristics that distinguish the operation and naturally the creation of green jobs that this new solar power plant will boost".

“This project will also have a component of preserving the local heritage, through the conservation of existing shepherds' shelters in the area where the plant is located, and intensive monitoring of existing biodiversity will be guaranteed, thus seeking to reduce the impact of this structure”.

Aquila Clean Energy currently manages a portfolio of around 900MW (Megawatt) in Portugal, in photovoltaic solar energy projects, “both in the development phase and already in operation”.

This company develops, builds and operates solar, wind and hydroelectric plants and is linked to energy storage equipment.

Later this year, it plans to start building five more solar power plants in Portugal, with a combined power of 330 MW.