With a capacity of 272 MWp, the park is made up of two contiguous solar plants — the Rio Maior Solar Power Plant (204 MWp) and the Torre Bela Solar Power Plant (68 MWp) — both wholly owned by Neoen.
The park is located in the municipality of Azambuja and is connected to the REN substation in Rio Maior via a 400 kV overhead line. The two plants began injecting electricity into the grid at the end of 2024 and are now fully commissioned. Around 80% of the renewable energy produced will be purchased by the Portuguese State under two 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) awarded at the 2019 renewable capacity auction. The remaining energy, as well as the certificates of origin, will be traded on the electricity market. The annual production of this park will exceed 500 GWh of green energy, which is equivalent to the consumption of more than 110,000 homes.
At the inauguration ceremony, Neoen reaffirmed its commitment to growing in Portugal across all its technologies (solar, wind and storage), building on its solid pipeline and international experience in building and operating large-scale battery energy storage projects. The solar park inaugurated today by Neoen, one of the world's leading independent producers of exclusively renewable energy, becomes the company's fourth-largest asset in operation globally. Including the solar plants in Rio Maior and Torre Bela, Neoen has a total capacity of 326 MWp in operation or under construction in Portugal. The other assets are the Coruche Solar Power Plant (8.8 MWp) and the Seixal Solar Power Plant (2.2 MWp), both in operation, and the Foral Solar Power Plant (43 MWp), which is under construction.
The new solar park was built on plots with an average size of 20 hectares, separated by green corridors that promote connection with the 200 hectares of biodiversity protection areas. More than 6,000 cork oaks were preserved in these protected areas, and to ensure landscape integration and reduce visual impact, a curtain of trees and shrubs was created around the perimeter of the plant, allowing for a more harmonious integration into the surrounding landscape. The Rio Maior and Torre Bela solar plants were developed within the walled perimeter of Herdade da Torre Bela, a property with diversified uses, including various agricultural and livestock activities. Herdade da Torre Bela is part of the land belonging to Sociedade Agrícola da Quinta do Convento da Visitação, Sag, Lda. The solar park was built on a leased area of this estate, and the use of the remaining land remains under the exclusive management of the owners.
a big shame.... Those solar parks in the middle of the nature.. Creating a micro climate!! Shame shame...
By Kasper van Nuland from Algarve on 06 Jun 2025, 07:58
As I have commented before on such articles about solar farms, where is the integration with food/produce farming in the same shared space?
In New Zealand and America they graze sheep on solar land - the panels provide shade for grass in summer, the land around the panels for the rest of the year is grazed to help keep the land clear and panels unobscured by grasses. There are also opportunities for a meat product, cheese and wool. Multiple benefits. The conversation needs to be about "are we maximising the opportunity of solar farms considering that they occupy so much land?"
By Luísa from Beiras on 06 Jun 2025, 21:09
The Portuguese Silicon valley, that politicians often dream about
By André from Alentejo on 07 Jun 2025, 09:04
What will happen to all the equipment in 20yrs time - disposed of on waste heap?
Not such a long-term sustainable solution
By Chris Robinson from Algarve on 07 Jun 2025, 09:46