Zelestra Clinches €147 Million to Build Spanish Solar Portfolio Financing

• Zelestra secures €146.6 m green loan from BNP Paribas and Rabobank to build six solar plants in Castilla-La Mancha, powering 150,000 Spanish homes by 2026.

MADRID — Renewable-energy developer Zelestra has closed a €146.6 million green-loan package to bankroll the construction of six solar farms in Castilla-La Mancha, pushing the company’s Spanish pipeline closer to the gigawatt mark.

The portfolio financing covers the Belinchón and Brazatortas clusters, which together will deploy 237 MWdc of photovoltaic capacity and are slated to begin producing electricity in the second quarter of 2026. BNP Paribas and Rabobank served as mandated lead arrangers and issuing banks, while BNP Paribas also coordinated the green-loan certification and provided hedging. The deal rests on 21 power-purchase agreements that lock in revenue for the entire portfolio.

Three plants at Belinchón, near Cuenca, will account for 162 MWdc and are expected to feed roughly 322 GWh a year into the grid—enough to supply around 96,000 Spanish households. A further trio of arrays at Brazatortas in Ciudad Real will add 75 MWdc and generate 145 GWh annually, bringing the combined output to the equivalent of 150,000 homes.

Construction across both clusters will create more than 800 site jobs at peak, according to country manager Luis Alvargonzález. “Securing this financing keeps us on schedule and on budget for our offtakers,” he said. “It also signals strong lender confidence in Zelestra’s strategy and execution capabilities.” Spain’s labour ministry estimates that every 10 MW of solar capacity supports 15–20 construction roles, underlining the regional employment boost.

Beyond job creation, the plants will generate millions of euros in municipal taxes and grid-connection fees while shaving an estimated 140,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions a year—advancing Madrid’s national target of 81 percent renewable electricity by 2030. The projects also align with Castilla-La Mancha’s own plan to double solar capacity this decade.

Zelestra now counts more than 800 MW of contracted, under-construction or operational assets in Spain and claims a national development pipeline exceeding 6 GW. Management says additional corporate PPAs are under negotiation for later-stage projects, leveraging strong industrial demand for long-term clean-power contracts as power-price volatility persists.

Financial close on the Castilla-La Mancha portfolio underscores a broader pickup in Spanish solar debt deals after a slowdown in late 2024, with lenders favouring multi-asset structures that spread merchant-price risk and accelerate drawdown.