Irizar e-mobility says it has become the first green energy electromobility factory in Europe by opening and commissioning the largest photovoltaic solar farm in the Basque Country. The park was opened in the presence of President of the Basque Government Iñigo Urkullu together with the Basque Energy Agency and the partners of the Ekian solar farm, in which the Irizar Group is one of the largest investors with the acquisition of 3MW.
The Ekian solar farm is located on a 55-hectare area on the Arasur Industrial Estate, in the municipality of Ribera Baja-Erribera Beitia, Araba. It consists of 66,000 latest generation solar panels, of 355W each, generating a total installed capacity of 24 MW, thus doubling the current solar power of the Basque Country.
The energy generated will supply Irizar’s e-mobility facilities, which the manufacturer claims makes it the first factory for the production of electric buses with zero emissions clean energy in Europe. Irizar has shown commitment to electromobility since 2011, and won the National Environment Award in the product-service category in Spain in 2016.
Irizar e-mobility was inaugurated in 2018, the first factory in Europe for electromobility solutions, designed and manufactured based on eco-sustainability concepts with a type A energy efficiency certificate. It includes a warehouse and domestic water heating system which uses surplus steam from a company located in the adjoining plot.
The Irizar Group also develops and manufactures its own batteries, under a partnership agreement signed with the Basque Energy Agency and Respol. It also offers a second life for its batteries, so that they can be reused at the end of their life-cycle as energy storage in recharging stations for electric vehicles in Repsol service stations, together with the power electronics associated with their use.
