Huelva’s Sur-Andévalo Irrigation Community Inaugurates €5 Million Photovoltaic Project with 3.6 MW Capacity Across Four Municipalities

The Sur-Andévalo irrigation community has inaugurated four new photovoltaic plants for self-consumption, located in the municipalities of Cartaya, Villanueva de los Castillejos, Gibraleón, and San Bartolomé de la Torre in Huelva province. This initiative, representing an investment of over €5 million, has been subsidized by the Andalusian Government with nearly €2 million through the self-consumption program managed by the Andalusian Energy Agency, under the Ministry of Industry.

During the inauguration, Minister of Industry Jorge Paradela highlighted the project’s significance. “These facilities will improve the energy efficiency of irrigation and reduce dependency on external energy sources. The plants can produce up to 70% of the energy needed for the operation of four pumping stations, allowing farmers to irrigate nearly 9,700 hectares of crops with solar energy,” said Paradela.

The photovoltaic installations include two floating systems on irrigation ponds, with capacities of 1.6 MW and 1.17 MW, providing electricity to the Dehesa de las Yeguas pumping station in Cartaya and the Bodegas station in Villanueva de los Castillejos, respectively. A third above-ground installation, with a peak generation power of 728 kW, is located at the Valdeoscuro pumping station in Gibraleón, dedicated to agricultural irrigation. The fourth, and smallest, with a capacity of 110.12 kW, is anchored to the ground with surplus compensation at the Madre del Agua pumping station, also in Villanueva de los Castillejos. Combined, these installations cover a floating photovoltaic surface area of 19,100 square meters and 9,600 square meters on the ground, driving 25 hectometers of water.

Minister Paradela also announced the approval of a new credit extension of €75.2 million for the incentive program for self-consumption facilities, which closed at the end of last year. This new budget will address pending applications that could not be processed previously due to a lack of funds.

The additional funds will primarily support self-consumption installations with renewable wind or photovoltaic energy sources, with or without storage, for the residential sector, individuals, homeowners’ communities, renewable energy communities, citizen energy communities, public administrations, and the tertiary sector, including private non-profit entities.

“Although the deadline for applications ended on December 31, 2023, Andalusia requested a third increase in funds from the Ministry, which was recently published in the Boja,” added Paradela.

This development reflects the Huelva agricultural sector’s commitment to energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, showcasing a model for future renewable energy projects in the region.