Repsol starts building first solar farm with workers spaced apart
Traditionally fossil fuel-focused European energy firms are buying or building clean energy plants as part of ambitious targets to cut global emissions
MADRID: Construction teams have started building oil and gas firm Repsol’s first solar plant, observing strict distancing measures due to the coronavirus, the company said on Wednesday.
Traditionally fossil fuel-focused European energy firms are buying or building clean energy plants as part of ambitious targets to cut global emissions.
Movement restrictions due to the outbreak have further pressured companies already squeezed by low oil prices, prompting them to slash spending plans. But Repsol said last month it still aimed to complete the expensive process of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050.
The new plant, in Manzanares in sunny central Spain, will cost 100 million euros ($108.6 million) and is due to start running at the beginning of next year with capacity to provide electricity to around 183,000 people.
Employees will work in groups of no more than four at any one time and keep a two-metre (6.56 ft) distance between each individual, Repsol said in a statement.
Entry to and exit from the site will be spaced out at 10-minute intervals, while suits and vehicles will be disinfected between uses by different people.
Repsol said it plans to start building another solar plant in southwest Spain in coming weeks. This one will cost 200 million euros and have capacity to produce 264 megawatts.
The company did not say when it expected this second plant to start pumping power into the grid.
Source: reuters
