May 21, 2025
This comparison shows the area now occupied by the Francisco Pizarro photovoltaic plant, located in the province of Cáceres, Spain, through satellite images taken on January 15, 2018 and January 15, 2025. In the first image we can see a large expanse of land devoid of buildings, and in the second we see the same area now blanketed by the photovoltaic plant.
This solar park, owned by the company Iberdrola, was inaugurated in 2022, occupies an area of 1,300 hectares and had an initial investment of more than 300 million euros. With 590 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity, it is the largest in Spain and, until 2024, in the European Union: in April of that year it was surpassed by the Witznitz solar park in Germany, which has an installed capacity of 605 MW.
Renewables are playing an increasingly important role in Spain’s energy production. According to data from Red Eléctrica (the operator of the Spanish electricity system), in 2024 solar photovoltaic (PV) energy accounted for almost 17% of the total energy generated nationally. That year, 57% of the electricity generated in Spain came from renewable sources.
In addition to solar PV, 1.6% of national production came from solar thermal; just over 23% came from wind, and nearly 13% from hydro. Among the non-renewables, the main one was nuclear energy, which accounted for 20% of the national generation structure.
Credits
2018: Planet Labs.
2025: Planet Labs.
