Design of 82 MW Solar Power Plants in Tarragona

Related theme: Future-proof Site (Re) Development & Transformation 

TAUW was engaged initially by IGNIS and ib vogt for joint solar projects in Catalunya, later wholly owned by ib vogt, a PV and wind plant development company. TAUW was asked to arrange the necessary environmental and spatial planning permits. Because of the complexity of the location, TAUW was also closely involved in the design of the solar power plants. 

Challenge 

NIMBY
The local residents and the regional administration had grave concerns about changes to the landscape and loss of crop land. The project location is a 100 hectare rural and agricultural area consisting of arable land, woodland, rivers, roads. It is also home to a wide variety of wildlife and to the endangered Bonelli’s eagle.  

An innovate approach was required to obtain the necessary permits from the competent authorities who were unconvinced of the need for a solar power plant in that area. 

Solutions 

Working with the environment
In this unique project, our TAUW Iberia team, together with external landscape architects, came up with an innovative design, by which it was possible to build a PV plant without making any changes to the landscape. Indeed, our objective was to show that solar plants are both biodiversity islands and an opportunity to generate clean, renewable energy. 

In the design, solar panels are placed on low-vegetation areas, working around patches of trees and shrubs. As a result the plant is spread over 13 plots. The panels are raised about 2 metres off the ground, giving access to grazing sheep or mechanical mowers. No part of the landscape is affected by the solar panels, neither the vegetation nor the dry stone walls and rural sheds that are part of Spain’s cultural heritage. There are no earth works needed in this design, every incline is left intact.

Impact

Commercially and environmentally viable
This is an iconic project. The design makes clever use of the landscape, taking advantage of the existing trees to shield the panels from view. It also demonstrates that PV plants can be integrated into a natural landscape, supporting its biodiversity and at the same time can be commercially viable. 

Once the solar plant is fully operational, a Biodiversity Management Plan will be put in place. This plan establishes biodiversity objectives, measuring existing biodiversity and proposing actions to achieve the objectives. Specific measures will be taken to ensure that the plant is compatible with the habitat of the Bonelli’s eagles. 

Partnership

“The study resolves with a careful methodology the integration of the plant on the agricultural estates. Basically, it divides the plant into thirteen plots ranging from one to thirteen hectares in surface. It respects the agricultural support structures, minimizes earth movements, establishes a set of strategies for the protection of identity elements such as farmhouses, small farmhouses, huts, dry stone walls, etc. locates and moves away facilities from riverbanks and watercourses, recognizes plant communities such as pine forests and scrubland that should be preserved. As a methodology, it is highly effective for the proper implementation of photovoltaic installations in this environment” - Tarragona Territorial Urban Planning Commission, 2023