Statkraft’s Pinea project wins environmental green light in Spain approval

• Statkraft secured environmental approval for the 150-MW Pinea solar plant in Cáceres, moving the Spanish project closer to construction.

Norway’s Statkraft has cleared a key hurdle for its 150-MW Pinea solar plant in Spain’s Cáceres province, winning environmental approval that unlocks procurement and grid-connection sequencing. The company estimates roughly €100 million in total investment for the PV site and associated connection works—typical for modern, tracker-based designs built to squeeze high annual yields from Iberia’s strong resource.

Permitting in western Spain has tightened as authorities weigh biodiversity and landscape alongside energy goals, so the green light is meaningful. It also fits a national trend: projects that arrive with selective storage or curtailment-mitigation plans tend to advance faster, reducing pressure on networks that see steep mid-day PV surges. With approval in hand, Statkraft can firm up EPC slots and lock long-lead equipment; transformers remain the schedule-driver even as module availability improves.

Commercially, Spain’s mix of PPAs, hedges and merchant exposure rewards plants that optimize DC-to-AC ratios and deploy bifacial modules on single-axis trackers. Expect that recipe here. If construction proceeds promptly, Pinea will add to Iberia’s growing solar backbone while bolstering local price stability.