- Installation and commissioning will take ten months and the plant is expected to be connected to the grid by the end of the year.
- In the coming weeks, a membership drive will be launched to encourage local people to join the new solar production cooperative.
- Meanwhile, panel installation at the Ekiola Lautada plant is now complete and work has started on grid connection and authorisation for commissioning of the plant.
Ekiola Gorbeialdea Solar Citizen Cooperative will run a new power facility supplying entirely local renewable energy to residents and small businesses in the Gorbeialdea area. Work began this week and will last 10 months.
The aim of the Ekiola initiative is to create energy communities, in which local citizens will generate all the electricity they need to meet their needs. The Gorbeialdea photovoltaic solar farm will be located at a site in Etxebarri Ibiña, near the Gorbeia shopping centre. It will have a total installed capacity of 1.25 MWp, enough to meet the electricity needs of 500–700 cooperative members.
The cost of the energy produced at the Ekiola Gorbeialdea plant will remain stable throughout the first 30 years of operation. Initial calculations indicate a price of around €30 per MWh, making it a highly competitive source of energy. The scheme offers local people and retailers a chance to make considerable savings. It will have a positive impact on the area's competitiveness and its ability to attract business.
Work at advanced stage at Ekiola Lautada
Meanwhile, work at Ekiola Lautada, in the municipal area of Agurain, is progressing at a good pace. All the PV panels have now been installed and it is hoped to connect the plant to the grid, with the first production tests beginning in May. The panels are expected to have an installed capacity of 1.25 MWp (megawatts peak) and supply approximately 500–700 cooperative members. Total annual output from the plant is estimated at 1562 MWh.
About Ekiola Energia Sustapenak
Ekiola is the result of a public-private partnership between the Basque Energy Agency and the engineering firm Krean, a member of Mondragon Corporation. The aim of the initiative is to create energy communities, based on the Basque cooperative model, in which local citizens will generate all the electricity they need to meet their needs. The cooperative also operates as a legal instrument capable of adapting to future modifications to the energy system. Members will not need to make any changes to their existing electrical installations. The solar farm is guaranteed for 30 years' operation.
The Ekiola model is consistent with the Basque Energy Strategy and EU policies on production and supply from renewable sources. Self-consumption and energy communities are both seen as necessary models in the transition to a new energy paradigm. Ekiola has been created as an energy development company. Through the scheme, cooperative members will own the energy they generate, meaning that local citizens will create, develop and consume their own energy.
For more information, please visit the website: www.ekiola.eus
