• The Bishop of Palencia, Manuel Herrero; the Mayor of the city, Mario Simón Martín; the Director of the Iberdrola Spain Foundation, Ramón Castresana; the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Regional Government of Castile and León, Javier Ortega; the Dean-President of the Chapter, Ángel de la Torre; the Iberdrola delegate in Castile and León, Miguel Calvo, and the diocesan delegate for heritage and canon of the Chapter, José Luis Calvo, attended the first switch-on.
  • The project, which has been supported by local companies, highlights the beauty of the architectural elements that make up the complex and, by applying the most advanced LED technology, contributes to sustainability by improving energy efficiency by almost 55% and avoiding the emission of 3.5 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The interior of Palencia Cathedral now has new lighting after the completion of the project developed by Iberdrola, which has had the support of Palencia companies, and which has filled with light one of the greatest symbols of the city – declared a National Monument in 1929 -, highlighting and enhancing the architectural ensemble and modernising its ornamental lighting.

The inauguration of the new lighting was attended by the Bishop of Palencia, Manuel Herrero; the Mayor of the city, Mario Simón Martín; the Director of the Iberdrola Spain Foundation, Ramón Castresana; the Regional Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Castilla y León Regional Government, Javier Ortega; the Dean-President of the Chapter, Ángel de la Torre; the Iberdrola delegate in Castilla y León, Miguel Calvo, and the diocesan delegate for heritage and canon of the Chapter, José Luis Calvo.

The work carried out over the last four months highlights the beauty of the architectural elements that make up the complex through a design that respects the heritage and spiritual values of the building by applying the most advanced LED technology with the installation of a total of 239 spotlights of different types with a power of only 9.6 kW.

The project also contributes to sustainability by improving energy efficiency by almost 55% and avoiding the emission of 3.5 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The new interior ornamental lighting has focused on the vaults of the central and lateral nave, the choir stalls, the choir, the High Altarpiece and the Chapel of the Sagrario. In addition, special treatment has been given to the new lighting of the crypt by fitting it with luminaires embedded in alabaster cylinders that have been designed expressly for this project.

This artistic lighting enhances the intrinsic meaning of the cathedral’s architecture through light and complements the functional lighting that is maintained in the church. It is also flexible and versatile enough to programme different levels of lighting for worship and for tourist visits.

Iberdrola, with the promotion of art and culture

One of Iberdrola’s main areas of action, through its foundation in Spain, focuses on the care, conservation and enhancement of historical and artistic wealth. The main objective of the Lighting Programme is to develop interventions in unique buildings to install or improve their interior and/or exterior lighting systems in order to contribute to the enhancement of historical and artistic heritage.

Since 2011, the volume of investment allocated to the Lighting Programme has amounted to more than 3 million euros and has led to the improvement of more than 40 monuments in Spain, including the Cathedral of Ávila, the interior of the New Cathedral of Salamanca, the historic Roman Bridge of Alcántara in Cáceres, and the façade of the Congress of Deputies and the Palace of the Supreme Court in Madrid.

About Iberdrola

Iberdrola is a global energy leader, the world’s largest wind power producer and one of the largest electricity companies by market capitalisation in the world. The group supplies energy to close to 100 million people in dozens of countries such as Spain, the United Kingdom (ScottishPower), the United States (AVANGRID), Brazil (Neoenergia), Mexico, Germany, Portugal, Italy and France. With a workforce of more than 35,000 people and assets of more than 122 billion euros, it had a turnover of 36,438 million euros and a net profit of 3,406 million euros in 2019. Iberdrola is leading the energy transition towards a sustainable model through its investments in renewable energies, smart grids, large-scale energy storage and digital transformation to offer the most advanced products and services to its customers. Thanks to its commitment to clean energy, it is one of the companies with the lowest emissions and an international benchmark for its contribution to the fight against climate change and sustainability.