French renewable energy company Neoen has officially inaugurated Portugal’s largest solar installation, a 272-megawatt peak (MWp) project consisting of the Rio Maior and Torre Bela solar farms, the company announced on Friday.
Located near Azambuja, approximately 70 kilometres north of Lisbon, the fully commissioned facility began feeding electricity into the national grid in late 2024. Neoen said the combined output of the two sites will exceed 500 gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually, equivalent to the consumption of around 110,000 households.
“Rio Maior and Torre Bela are a major milestone in our development in Portugal,” said Matilde Azevedo, Neoen’s head of business development in the country. “We are particularly thankful to the ministry, regulator, environment agency, REN, the municipality of Azambuja and local communities for their support.”
Eighty percent of the electricity generated will be sold under two 15-year power purchase agreements awarded in Portugal’s 2019 renewable energy auction. The remainder will be traded on the open market, along with certificates of origin.
The Rio Maior site accounts for 204MWp of capacity, while Torre Bela contributes 68MWp. Both are fully owned by Neoen and connected to the REN substation via a 400kV transmission line.
Developed within the boundaries of the Herdade da Torre Bela estate, the layout was designed with environmental considerations in mind. The project preserved 6,000 cork oak trees and was built in 20-hectare plots separated by green corridors to support biodiversity. A screen of trees and shrubs was added to integrate the facility into the surrounding landscape.
With the commissioning of Rio Maior and Torre Bela, Neoen now has 326MWp in operation or under construction in Portugal, including the Coruche, Seixal, and under-construction Foral solar farms. Its national development pipeline exceeds 600MW and includes solar, wind, and energy storage projects.
The company also plans to expand the Rio Maior site into a broader “Green Power Hub,” including a battery storage facility and a new wind farm. “We are determined to deepen our engagement and to turn Rio Maior into a true Green Power Hub,” said Xavier Barbaro, Neoen’s group chief executive.
Neoen currently operates 400MW of battery storage in Europe and nearly 1GW of grid-forming battery systems in Australia.
