• Acciona Experience
    • Home
    • Renewable energy
  • Renewable energy
  • Transport
  • Water
  • Social
  • Cities
  • Sustainability
  • Innovation
  • contact

  • Solar panels on the water

    • Renewable energy
    We are used to seeing solar panels on the roofs of houses or on large expanses of land, but not on reservoirs.
    • facebook
    • twitter
    • linkedin
    • mail
    • whatsapp

  • Riddle me this

    What floats on water, is powered by the sun and respects the environment?

    We bet your answer to this riddle would never have been a photovoltaic plant. Until now, that is. That's right: floating photovoltaic plants now exist. Technology never ceases to amaze us with innovations like this, adapting a clean energy source to a medium for which it was not initially designed.

    We are used to seeing solar panels on the roofs of houses or on large expanses of land, but not on reservoirs. This type of technology is starting to appear in other parts of the world but the floating photovoltaic plant on the Sierra Brava reservoir (Extremadura) is the first one to be connected to Spain's electricity grid.

    This project means various types of solar panels, inclinations and flotation systems can be tested together in a real environment. The most innovative elements include the installation of bifacial panels, modules where the back-facing surface is transparent to allow natural light to reach the back face, which is installed at various different inclinations (30, 45 and 90 degrees), in order to compare which inclination performs best.

    Advantages of this new technology

    The floating photovoltaic plant has shown several advantages over land-based plants, factors that can compensate for the higher initial investment. 

    We will talk about them in the following gallery.

    • Better performance

      Better performance due to a lower environmental temperature, as a result of being close to the water and on surfaces with a high exposure to the sun and that are less prone to shading.

    • It does not use farm land

      It offers an alternative to conventional photovoltaic plants for locations where there is a shortage of land. Having the plants on the water frees up the land where the conventional plant would be, allowing that land to be used for other purposes, such as agriculture.

    • More and better quality water

      In terms of the environment, floating photovoltaic plants reduce the amount of water that evaporates in reservoirs and improves the quality of the water by reducing algae growth.

    • Coexistence with local fauna

      The project's environmental measures include implementing two floating islands and introducing nest boxes to encourage birds to nest in the environment.

  • What makes this floating photovoltaic plant different to a conventional one?

    More than just the obvious, that's for sure. This facility opens up new horizons for solar energy. ACCIONA is moving towards an innovative future and is trying to achieve cleaner energy that is increasingly more efficient and sustainable. Because, besides the fact it is on water, the Sierra Brava plant has some really interesting data:

    • The plant has been built primarily as a research centre for developing this technology.

     

    • It is made up of 5 different fields where different degrees of inclination of the panels or their flotation systems are tested.

     

    • Its 3,000 solar panels generate 1 megawatts of energy, which, for example, could provide light to 10,000 homes for a whole year.

     

    • It only takes up 07 % of the total area of the reservoir.

     

    • It is attached to the bottom of the reservoir by a system of anchored concrete blocks. Under the panels, a spider web is formed from 74 cables that are attached to 74 concrete blocks

    In order to give you a clearer idea of the characteristics of this type of plant and the benefits it provides, we have prepared this infographic. Shall we take a look?

  • Have you enjoyed the article? Share it!

    • facebook
    • twitter
    • linkedin
    • mail
    • whatsapp

    • A wind turbine blade mold over 200 wheels

      • Renewable energy

      Find out how we transported a huge new mold, for manufacturing over-60-meter-long wind turbine blades, between Bilbao port and the ACCIONA Blades plant in Navarre

    • Sishen: where the sun's the limit

      • Renewable energy

    • The story of how we came to control the wind

      • Renewable energy

    • From the field to your household appliances

      • Renewable energy

    • ACCIONA is a leader in providing sustainable solutions for infrastructure and renewable energy projects across the world.

        • Renewable energy
        • Transport
        • Water
        • Social
        • Cities
        • Sustainability
        • Innovation
      • ACCIONA Experience
        • Legal Note
        • Cookies Policy
        • Privacy Policy
        • Contact
        • Ethical Channel
        © Copyright ACCIONA Experience 2025

    • Do you like our stories? Subscribe!

      You must provide a contact email

      YOU’RE JUST ONE STEP AWAY!
      Please, confirm your subscription on the email we have sent you and your registration will be completed.

      An error has ocurred while attempting to register your e-mail. Try to register again later.

      YOU ARE NOW SUBSCRIBED TO THE NEWSLETTER! If you've missed our content, try checking your spam folder and add us to your address book so you can enjoy it without any problems.

Information on data protection

In compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on Data Protection and with other Data Protection regulations in force, you are hereby informed that your personal data shall be processed by Acciona, S.A. (hereinafter “ACCIONA”), whose identification data are as follows: Tax ID No. (NIF): A08001851; Address: Avenida de la Gran Vía de Hortaleza, 3, 28033 (Madrid); Tel. No.: +34 91 663 28 50; email: protecciondedatos@acciona.com. Your data shall be processed in order to send you information, through the subscription to our Newsletter through electronic means, regarding our latest technological innovation of ACCIONA´s initiative "EXPERIENCE".

The consent given by the data subject by indicating that they have read and accept this data protection information comprises the lawfulness of processing. The data provide is your email address. If you fails to provide the required data, the subscription Request cannot be satisfied. We may also process your satisfaction or preferences, if you voluntarily respond to surveys. Data shall be stored until the elimination is requested.

In order to carry out our purpose, we may give access to your data to service providers (such as technology service providers) who assist us in fulfilling this purpose. Some of its service providers, may be located outside of the European Economic Area in territories that do not offer a level of data protection that is comparable to that of the European Union. In such cases, we transfer User data with appropriate safeguards and always ensuring the security of the same.

The data subject can exercise their rights of access to or rectification, erasure or portability of their data, and/or the restriction of or objection to the processing of such data, by contacting Acciona, S.A. by writing the Department of Data Protection located at Avenida de la Gran Vía de Hortaleza, 3, 28033 (Madrid) or by sending the form available in the link:

FORM

If we consider it necessary in order to be able to identify you, we may ask you for a copy of an identity document. Furthermore, at any time the data subject may withdraw the granted consent by contacting the aforementioned address and file a claim to the Supervisory Authority (Agencia Española de Protección de Datos www.aepd.es). You can also unsubscribe from the Newsletter communication.

For any further information you can visit the Privacy Police on the website https://experience.acciona.com/privacy-policy/.