Selection of project site is one of the principal point in planning a solar project. The pre-analysis will progress through several stages of assessment:

• Initial Assessment.
• Site characterization.
• Solar potential.
• Detailed cash flow projection and financing.

It is important to identify critical requirements, ensuring that resources are not committed at unfeasible sites:

• Field visits.
• Analysis of critical information, environmental regulation, urban law, etc.
• Evaluation of affected land.
• Assessment of the possibilities for grid connection.

The result of the site selection study in the pre-analysis stage and the solar radiation data will be the basis for the definition of the layout and, consequently, the installed power and energy generated.

Once the above mentioned tasks are performed, we issue a report assessing the suitability of the terrain for solar plant development. That report may also contain a recommendation of the solar plant boundaries, an estimation of total capacity the site could hold and suggested nodes for grid connection. Moreover, the report may also identify possible obstacles that could arise while promoting, such as environmental aspects related with protected species potentially affected, urban planning restrictions or potential social conflicts.

Once the location of the solar plant has been determined, the next step is the development of a basic project to establish the electrical connection to the grid, access roads and plant design.

The scope of this project is to determine the technical and economical feasibility of these elements, which can have influence in the viability of the whole project. The content of this document will be also required by the public administration to obtain the permits and authorizations to install and operate the solar plant.

Cost-breakdown of the expected works, development process, installation and start-up.

The main inputs in the economic-financial study are the development costs, plant factor or annual energy production, installations costs, operation and maintenance costs, insurance and price of electricity, etc. Uncertainty in the expected measured data and risk analysis are factors to be considered in the annual energy production, and in the definition of the acceptable limit of the IRR value that makes the project feasible.

Identification of land plots and negotiation of contracts with landowners. Depending on the current regulation, all the necessary procedures to assure the specific rights for land use are defined in this stage, cadastral boundaries, landowners, contract negotiation. In certain cases this may require negotiating access rights and servitudes over other land parcels. Most projects will also involve a change of land use.

ECOIBERICA carries out the studies and documentation required to obtain the grid connection permits:

• Previous analysis.
• Grid impact assessment, using the software PSS/E from Siemens.
• Installation Study.
• Interconnection contract.

Some of the administrative permits and licenses required to install and operate a solar plant are:

• Grid connection permits.
• Contract registration at the Land Registry.
• Land use change to industrial practices.
• Rights of way for the electrical power evacuation line.
• Crossing permissions.
• Archaeological study.
• Approval document of the City Council..
• Approval document of Government Energy Authorities.
• Building permits for solar plant and access roads.

Multidisciplinary groups during the design engineering of the solar plant and the Environmental Impact Assessment stage must be coordinated in order to optimize the project and adjust it to the legal and environmental requirements, this will allow the achievement of the following goals:

• Overall profitability and feasibility of the project.
• Civil works layout, considering solar plant logistics during construction.
• Layout of the electricity infrastructure.
• Health and safety assessment.
• Environmental Impact Assessment (Landscape and Visual Impact, endangered species, Zones of Visual Influence, Ecological and Ornithological Impacts, Socio–Economic effects, global environmental benefits.
• Minimization of the environmental impacts generated by the solar plant.

The engineering project will include the final detailed design that allows the definition of all the elements involved in the plant.

Mechanical and Electrical

Description of the electrical network, MV and HV network design, MV and HV calculations, short circuit calculations, voltage drop and energy losses, electrical equipment data sheet, bill of quantities, switchgear, substation.

Civil Works

Access roads, MV cable network, structural design, control building, substation, drainage, calculation reports, bill of quantities.

Control System

The engineering project shall include a section for all the elements related with the control system of the solar plant.

The Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) are a critical part of planning a successful solar project because they secure a long-term stream of revenue for the project through the sale of the electricity generated by the project. Securing a good PPA is often one of the main points of a solar project development.