Spain's largest energy supplier, Iberdrola, and Spanish PV project developer Prosolia have secured an environmental permit from the Portuguese authorities to build a 1.2 GW solar plant in the municipality of Santiago de Cacém, about 200 kilometers south of Lisbon.

Iberdrola said that the project will be the largest PV plant in Europe. It said “will be an example of strict respect for all environmental standards.” The project is expected to begin commercial operations in 2025.

“The land that will host the project has already been secured,” said Iberdrola.

The project was originally announced in September 2021. At the time, Prosolia said the plant would have a capacity of 1.14 GW and employ Tesla batteries. In yesterday's announcement by Iberdrola, however, no mention was made about the storage unit.

In December, the European Investment Bank (EIB) said that it would finance 188 MW of PV plants under development by Iberdrola in Portugal. The company has also announced plans to invest €3 billion ($3.26 billion) in solar, wind and storage projects in Portugal by the end of this year.

Prosolia and Iberdrola jointly plan to invest €850 million in the construction of four solar parks with a combined capacity of 360 MW in Spain, as well as a 1.2 GW solar facility in Portugal, by 2025.