Spanish utility company Iberdrola and solar panels manufacture Exiom Solution partner to build the first large photovoltaic module manufacturing plant in Spain and one of the first on an industrial scale in Europe.
With an investment of €20 million through Iberdrola’s Perseo Venture Builder, the solar panel factory will be constructed in a former mining area in the municipality of Langreo, Asturias, generating 115 direct jobs, as part of the commitment of both companies to the economic reactivation of the mining areas by promoting industrialization associated with the energy transition.
The solar panel factory is expected to come into operation this year. It will have a capacity of 500 MW, incorporating state-of-the-art machinery for the production of solar panels. The opening of this new factory in Spain responds to the interest of both companies in achieving competitive manufacturing industry based in Europe, with a focus in a first phase on solar panels with the possibility of extending the collaboration to other components of the photovoltaic value chain.
Exiom Solution is a wholly Spanish-owned manufacturer, with origins in Asturias itself, and one of the few European companies to appear on the prestigious list of Tier 1 manufacturers. It currently has two solar panel manufacturing centers in China, and it also has a steel structure factory for photovoltaic parks, located in Langreo.
Iberdrola’s commitment to a sustainable energy model is part of its PERSEO program to promote the development of start-ups and innovative industrial companies working in new areas of electrification and in sectors that are difficult to decarbonize. This program has been allocated €40 million, through the Perseo Venture Builder, specifically to launch industrial initiatives that can be developed in the field of energy transition. Since its creation in 2008, PERSEO has invested €175 million in businesses that develop innovative technologies, focusing on those that will improve the sustainability of the energy sector through further electrification and decarbonization of the economy.