Spanish telecommunications giant Orange has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for solar energy with utility Iberdrola.

The energy company will supply green electricity from a new 328MW solar farm that will be built in Extremadura, which is expected to be completed later this year.

It will deliver 200GWh of solar power annually to 9,000 offices and buildings operated by Orange in Spain.

Once operational, the solar farm is expected to help save around 110,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year.

Laurent Paillassot, CEO of Orange said: “This agreement with Iberdrola is in line with our commitment to caring for the planet and for sustainability, set out in the Orange Group’s strategic plan, Engage 2025, of which Spain, as its second largest market, is a fundamental part. In addition, it reinforces our strategy as a group to achieve carbon emission neutrality by 2040, while also contributing to increasing the renewable energy capacity in Spain.”

Iberdrola plans to install a total of 3GW of renewable projects in Spain by 2022.

Ángeles Santamaría, CEO of Iberdrola Spain added: “PPAs open many opportunities to develop the renewable projects that are transforming the present and future energy in our country. These long term energy purchase and sales contracts provide stability to the company’s investments and have also become an optimal tool for managing the electricity supply of large consumers who are committed to clean and sustainable consumption.

“In addition, these agreements demonstrate the competitiveness of renewables and their ability to supply energy at affordable and stable prices”.