MADRID, 20 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Visalia has signed a long-term wholesale supply agreement (PPA) with Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure in Spain, securing supply for almost ten years, both companies reported.
Specifically, Atlantica will produce electricity with the new 27.5 megawatt (MWp) ‘Caparacena’ photovoltaic project, in the province of Granada, which is scheduled to come into operation in 2026. This plant will produce energy for 17,000 homes and will avoid emission of about 16,000 tons of CO2.
Visalia will also be the market agent for this project. Until then, Atlantica will supply energy to Visalia from the ‘PS20’ solar plant in Sanlúcar la Mayor, with 20 MW of power.
The CEO of Visalia, Pablo Abejas, pointed out that the group’s strategy is to support all its businesses, whether electricity, natural gas, diesel or propane, in addition to its own assets, infrastructure and networks, “with physical, tangible supplies and real, with world-class counterparts like Atlantica”.
“We do not operate virtually or financially. We are a vertically integrated group that physically takes the real product from production or storage centers to our clients’ homes, centers of business and industrial activity,” he said.
For his part, Atlantica’s country manager in Spain, Carlos Colón, highlighted that the firm “has a strong presence in the solar market in Spain”, with 682 MW of installed power in operation, and that it plans to “continue growing at through the development of new renewable projects such as Caparacena”.
“At a global level, Atlantica has a portfolio of projects in development of 2.2 GW of renewables and 6 GWh of storage,” he added in this regard.
Meanwhile, the general director of Visalia, Alejandro Tejero-Garcés, stated that the company is “integrating assets and infrastructure that have been operating for more than 120 years, delivering energy to more than 110,000 customers, even if they live in remote mountain towns.”
“Our purpose is to bring energy to all people and entities without any exclusion to improve their well-being. If, for example, a pensioner in the Pyrenees needs to refill their diesel tank before winter, our distribution trucks will provide service from our logistics gas centers,” he assured.
In line with Visalia’s ESG policies, the company will allocate part of this renewable ‘PPA’ to its Energy Bank against energy poverty, launched two years ago with the Responsible Energy Foundation, to help families who suffer from energy poverty do not have to choose between feeding their children or being able to turn on the heating.
The Visalia Energy Bank is similar to Food Banks; The company donates energy, guarantees of renewable origin or part of its profits to the Responsible Energy Foundation and, in turn, this non-profit entity coordinates the management of this energy or these funds in a transparent and effective way, to help families with severe vulnerability, in coordination with social services and other assistance foundations.
In this sense, Abejas was “proud” to sign this ‘PPA’ “with an international benchmark such as Atlantica in environmental, social and governance matters -ESG for its acronym in English- with a great ESG Risk Rating according to Sustainalytics, since We are committed to Responsible Energy in capital letters, both socially and environmentally, where families come first, especially those who suffer from energy poverty, neighborhood communities and our companies come second, and generating the lowest environmental impact possible.”