Atalaya Mining and Endesa X have joined forces to build the 50 MW solar photovoltaic project that will power a mining operation in Spain.
The 60-hectare solar farm will be located in the southwestern municipality of Minas de Riotinto, where Atalaya’s local subsidiary manages the historic Riotinto mine, an open-pit copper operation with a commercial production rate of 15 mtpa and proven and probable ore reserves totaling 197 million tonnes at 0.42% copper.
The project represents about EUR30 million (US$32.73 million) of investment. It consists of up to 75,765 solar panels of 650-655 W. Endesa X plans to build a substation that will convert energy from 132 to 30 kilovolts and will connect directly to the mine. The amount of green energy supplied to Riotinto will be equivalent to powering 14,500 homes for 12 months.
