Pedrogao Grande, Leiria, Portugal, March 7, 2025 (Lusa) - The floating photovoltaic plant planned for the Cabril reservoir, in the districts of Pedrógão Grande, Pampilhosa da Serra and Sertã, in central Portugal, includes 82,368 solar panels, according to the environmental impact study that has been out for public consultation since Friday.
"The Cabril floating photovoltaic plant project will have a connection power of 47.77 MWp [mega watt-peak] generated by 82,368 solar panels, each capable of producing a peak power of 580 Wp and occupying a total panel area of 33.97 hectares," reveals the non-technical summary of the environmental impact study, available on the participa.pt platform.
The mega watt-peak unit corresponds to the maximum power of a set of solar panels under ‘standard’ conditions, i.e. solar radiation of 1,000 watts/m2 and a temperature of 25ºC.
The non-technical summary states that "the expected annual electricity production will reach" around 73,799 megawatts per hour, and the energy generated will be injected into the public service electricity grid.
The construction phase will last 18 months, while operation will last between 25 and 30 years. The decommissioning phase lasts six months.
"During the construction phase it is estimated that the number of workers assigned to the site will be a maximum of 120 people."
In the operating phase, the floating photovoltaic plant "will have a control system that allows it to operate automatically".
Thus, "during the operating phase, three people will be permanently assigned to the project".
The plant, a project by the French energy company Voltalia, which won the floating solar auction for Cabril, is planned for the territory of the districts of Pedrógão Grande (Leiria district), Pampilhosa da Serra (Coimbra) and Sertã (Castelo Branco).
With the two associated overhead power lines (one of 3.44 kilometres and the other of 21.21 kilometres), the project will also reach the districts of Castanheira de Pera and Figueiró dos Vinhos (Leiria), and Penela (Coimbra).
A 30-kilovolt (kV) line will connect the plant's transformer stations to a substation. The substation will be connected to the national grid with a 60 kV power line.
The public consultation of the environmental impact study, which has already received seven submissions, ends on 17 April.
According to the study, the town councils of Pedrógão Grande and Pampilhosa da Serra have issued an unfavourable opinion on the planned solar power plant, while the municipality of Sertã has not responded as yet.
The document, drawn up by Portuguese Sinambi Consultores for Voltalia, states that, in accordance with the legal framework for environmental impact assessment, this project is not directly subject to an environmental impact assessment, but this was determined after the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology concluded that, given the characteristics of the area in which it will be located, "it may be likely to cause significant negative impacts on the environment".
The previous government auctioned off 263 megawatts of solar energy in seven dams across the country, and in April 2022 awarded six of the seven lots, including Cabril, to Voltalia.
Voltalia then explained in a press release that the plant's installed capacity "will be between 33 MW and 40 MW, depending on the final tuning of the project".
"With 33 hectares, the plant will provide green energy for a volume equivalent to the consumption of 70,300 inhabitants," the company explained, noting that the expectation is that “the project will be commissioned by 2026”.
As for revenue, "it will be supported by a 15-year contract awarded by the ministry for the environment and climate action, with a price of €41.025 per megawatt-hour," Voltalia said at the same time.
Its website states that the company was founded in France in 2005 and is ‘an international energy producer and service provider’ specialising ‘in renewable energy solutions’.
SR/AYLS // AYLS
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