Among those in attendance at inauguration ceremonies at the Guzmán plant were Antonio Ávila, Minister of the Economy in the Andalusian Regional Government, and Eduardo González, General Manager of FCC Energía.
FCC, the Citizen Services Group, created a 70:30 joint venture with Japanese company Mitsui to build the plant, which cost about €280 million and involved more than 500 workers at the peak of construction.
At the inauguration, Antonio Ávila, Minister of the Economy in the Andalusian Regional Government highlighted "the effects of this project, in local and overall terms, on advancing towards energy sustainability as a source of wealth and growth".
He also noted that Andalusia is the leading region in Spain in terms of solar thermal power facilities, with 950 MW operational (61% of the total in Spain), and it exports that technology through innovative R&D projects, which are then developed at Andalusian universities and at the Solar Platform and the Advanced Technology Centre for Renewable Energy, both in Almería.
Córdoba is the second Andalusian province in terms of installed solar thermal capacity, accounting for 31% of the regional total.
“The Guzmán plant represents a milestone for FCC because it exemplifies our progress in renewable energies," said Eduardo González, General Manager of FCC Energía.
"We lead the development, funding, construction and operation of the plant with the invaluable help of our partners Mitsui on the investment side and FCC Industrial, Abantia and Seridom, on the construction side," he said.
The company said the plant will benefit from its ideal location in Palma del Río. It is one of the places in Europe that receives most sunlight all year round, and has easy access to water and gas supply and suitable power offtake structures.
The plant will produce enough energy to meet the electricity needs of 26,000 people (around 100,000 MWh) and will reduce emissions by approximately 100,000 tons of CO2.
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