Repsol began construction of the first two wind farms of the 860MW Delta 2 cluster in the northeastern Spanish region of Aragon that represent the start of the oil & gas firm’s largest renewables foray to date.

The complete Delta 2 is slated to be completed in 2023, when it will supply electricity to around 800,000 homes, avoiding the emission of more than 2.6 million tons of CO2 per year.

The Spanish group in its 2021-25 strategic plan said it plans to become a multi-energy company with net zero emissions by 2050. As an interim step, Repsol plans to reach 7.5GW of what it calls low-emission generation by 2025, and to double that figure by 2030. Although it includes gas-fired generation in its low-emission category, most of the projects will be from renewable sources.

Repsol currently has 3.3GW of low-emission generation capacity, including the 335MW Delta 1 wind power project, also in Aragon, which has been operational since last March with 89 turbines spinning across eight wind farms.

Repsol is currently also building the Pi wind project in northern Spain, with another 175MW in capacity, and is developing three solar projects in the country with a combined capacity of 264MW.

The company last year also began the international expansion of its renewable business, with the signing of a joint venture with Grupo Ibereolica Renovables that gives it access to a portfolio of assets in Chile in operation, under construction or in advanced development of more than 1.6GW by 2025.

Repsol has earmarked €5.5bn ($6.7bn), or 30% of its investments foreseen in 2021-25, to low-carbon initiatives.

The company has begun construction of the Cometa 1 and 2 onshore wind projects in the Spanish province of Zaragoza that have a combined capacity of 60MW, and will being work on three more wind farms this year that form part of the Delta 2 complex.