At a glance
- Solar added to an existing wind farm can run through the same point of interconnection, adding generation without adding a queue position.
- Grid capacity is the binding constraint in the energy transition, and power rights are becoming an asset class of their own, so a permit like this is a direct purchase of one.
- The 16.2 MW is small in absolute terms, but the pattern is not.
Naturgy has won approval to add 16.2 MW of solar to an existing wind farm in Spain, a site Renewables Now does not name and whose location matters less than what the permit attaches to: the farm's grid connection. Solar added to an existing wind farm can run through the same point of interconnection, adding generation without adding a queue position. Grid capacity is the binding constraint in the energy transition, and power rights are becoming an asset class of their own, so a permit like this is a direct purchase of one.
The 16.2 MW is small in absolute terms, but the pattern is not. Every wind-solar hybrid approval makes an existing connection do double duty, a quiet answer to the interconnection backlog. Expect more of these approvals, because the cheapest new capacity in Europe is the capacity that never has to ask for a new line.
Reported by the Energy Transition desk from Renewables Now. Published . Corrections