June 25, 2021
The President of the Parliament of Castilla-La Mancha, Mr. Pablo Bellido, the Counselor of Sustainable Development, Mr. José Luis Escudero, together with the President of Solaria, Mr. Enrique Díaz-Tejeiro, attended today the presentation ceremony of the Cifuentes-Trillo 626 MW photovoltaic complex, the largest in Europe, which will have a very significant economic impact on the region of Guadalajara.
The park will consist of 13 plants located in the municipalities of Budia, Cifuentes, Peralveche, San Andrés del Rey and Trillo.
Solaria, a leading company in the development and generation of photovoltaic solar energy in southern Europe, will invest 220 million euros in the project and expects to pay 40 million euros in local taxes. In addition, the development of the solar park will generate 4,000 direct jobs during the construction phase and another 50 additional jobs linked to maintenance tasks, helping to combat rural depopulation.
It was also announced at the presentation ceremony that Solaria will make significant additional investments to support the local economy and will sign collaboration agreements to integrate the plants into the region’s ecosystem.
Solaria is committed to collaborating in the development and integration of photovoltaic energy in rural areas in order to fight against depopulation. To achieve this, Solaria is committed to training and will create a centre in Cifuentes to train students from the region through which several training actions will be launched with the aim of providing each participant with a certificate of professionalism from the Regional Counselor of Education.
In addition, several collaboration agreements will be signed with several local agents for a greater integration of the plant within its ecosystem. The cultivation of lavender, the placement of bee hives and grazing within the plants are envisaged to make the Cifuentes-Trillo project a national example of integrating renewable energy production with the rural environment and traditional land uses, known as agrovoltaic energy.
According to Mr. Enrique Díaz-Tejeiro, President of Solaria: “Solaria is proud to present the largest photovoltaic complex in Europe, Cifuentes-Trillo 626MW, which will contribute to the transition towards a sustainable energy model and to the fight against climate change. In the same way, for us it is essential to support the local economy through investments, support for training and different collaboration agreements to integrate the plants into the ecosystem”.
The President of the Parliament of Castilla-La Mancha, Pablo Bellido, welcomed the arrival of this photovoltaic complex for its multiple benefits and recalled that compared to previous initiatives with high resistance in the province, on this occasion, “thanks to the drive of Solaria and the collaboration of the regional government and local councils in the region such as Cifuentes” this project responds to the commitment to “clean and alternative energies, which create wealth without compromising the environment”.
The Counselor for Sustainable Development, José Luis Escudero, has highlighted the commitment of the Executive led by Emiliano García-Page to energy transition projects “hand in hand with public-private collaboration with companies”, stressing that, “with the utmost rigour and respect for the environment and biodiversity”, the government he represents is working to promote a new energy model based on renewable energies with the aim of contributing from Castilla-La Mancha to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency through an energy sector that, through investments such as those we have seen today, creates wealth, favours the socio-economic development of the territories where they are implemented, and helps to fix the population in the most depopulated areas of the region, helping to meet the demographic challenge that lies ahead.