Sonnedix Douro Solar Plant Goes Live, Fortifying Portugal’s Energy Transition

• Sonnedix commissions the 150-MW Douro solar park in Tarouca, Portugal, under a 10-year Equinix PPA and targets doubling Portuguese capacity by year-end 2025.

Sonnedix has flicked the switch on its biggest European project to date, the 150-MW Douro solar park in Tarouca, northern Portugal, marking a fresh milestone in the Iberian nation’s rapid renewables rollout. The plant, backed by a long-term offtake agreement with global data-centre giant Equinix, is now delivering clean electricity to the national grid after less than two years of construction and grid-compliance testing.

Built across the undulating hills of the Douro Valley, the facility is expected to generate around 230 GWh of power annually—enough to meet the needs of roughly 76 000 Portuguese households while avoiding more than 82 000 tonnes of CO₂ each year. It supports Portugal’s ambition to source 80 % of its electricity from renewables by 2026 and reinforces the country’s position as one of Europe’s fastest-growing solar markets.

The project’s revenue stack centres on a 10-year pay-as-produced power-purchase agreement with Equinix, under which the tech firm will offtake the majority of the plant’s output to decarbonise its expanding Iberian data-centre operations from July 2025. Sonnedix notes that the Douro PPA is its second deal with Equinix, deepening a relationship it describes as “crucial for accelerating corporate clean-power uptake across Southern Europe.”

With the ribbon now cut at Douro, Sonnedix is turning to an ambitious build-out plan: the company aims to double its operating solar capacity in Portugal by the end of this year, taking its national fleet to roughly 300 MW.  Several greenfield projects in the construction queue—including the nearby 75-MW Douro II extension and a trio of sub-50-MW clusters in Alentejo—are slated to reach mechanical completion before December.

CEO Axel Thiemann called the commissioning “a landmark for both Sonnedix and Portugal,” emphasising that utility-scale projects paired with bankable corporate PPAs can be financed quickly despite volatile power prices. Industry observers agree: with land-use rules easing and grid connections steadily expanding, Portugal’s solar pipeline is forecast to top 6 GW in operation by 2026, compared with just 1.5 GW five years ago.

For now, Douro adds immediate momentum. By harnessing the valley’s abundant sunlight through bifacial modules mounted on single-axis trackers, the plant will help stabilise local supply and lower wholesale prices—proof, Sonnedix argues, that large-scale solar remains one of the fastest, cheapest tools for Europe’s clean-energy transition.