This production, along with that of hydroelectric and solar energy, meant that 38% of total production was of renewable origin, five percentage points higher than the same month last year. So far this year, production from renewable sources has represented 39% of the total.
It is worth highlighting, that during the month of February, new all time maximum records of wind power production were established. At 11:20 am on 24 February, an instantaneous power of 12,916 MW was registered, the previous maximum, 12,880 MW, had been registered earlier in the month (5 February). Additionally, on 24 February, a maximum hourly wind power production of 12,843 MW was registered between 11:00 and 12:00 a.m., as well as a total daily production of 270,417 MWh.
Last year 2009 has seen a sharp increase in installed wind power with 2,459 MW (1,609.11 MW installed in 2008), bringing the accumulated power to 19,148.8 MW according to the Wind Power Observatory of the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE).
Among the manufacturers, Gamesa continues to lead the wind turbines market with 34.36% of last year´s installed capacity and 47.34% of the accumulated power. Vestas sees an increase in its share up to 15.82% thanks to 23.32% of the market in 2009. It also grows the share of Acciona Wind Power, which places itself in third position in the ranking, as well as Enercon, Suzlon and Siemens, with almost 9% of the installed power in 2009 the first two and 4.68% the third one.
The demand for electrical energy on the Spanish peninsula was 21,897 GWh in the month of February representing an increase of 6.1% with respect to the same month last year. Factoring in the effects of seasonal and working patterns, the adjusted demand grew 3.3%.
Red Eléctrica maintains its investment plan at 4,000 million euros for the period 2010-2014
In 2009, Red Eléctrica Group achieved a consolidated after-tax profit of 330.4 million euros, representing an increase of 15.5% with respect to that registered in 2008, in which it registered earnings of 286 million euros.
Investment over the last year rose 19.4%, reaching 759 million euros. Transmission grid investment, which represents 96.8% of the total, grew to 735 million as compared to 614 million allocated in 2008, representing a growth of 19.7%.
The gross operating result (EBITDA) was 845.6 million euros, 9.6% higher than the previous year, resulting from a 6.6% increase in net turnover, which reached 1.2 million euros, and a containment of the operating costs.
Strategic Plan 2010-2014
Red Eléctrica de España presented the Group’s strategic plan for the 2010-2014 period, as well as the consolidated results for 2009. The strategic plan considers investments of 4,000 million euros in the transmission grid over the next five years which, that together with those carried out in 2007, reach an investment figure of 6,000 million euros for the period 2007-2014 (the infrastructure plan 2007-2016 considers an investment of 8,000 million euros for the same period).
The strategic plan considers the reinforcement of grid meshing and the international interconnections, not only to increase the capacity and to improve the quality and security of supply, but also to contribute to the operation of an integrated and competitive electricity system, where the integration of renewable energy is facilitated, and losses and system costs are reduced.
The cornerstone of Red Eléctrica’s strategy for the next five years is to consolidate the role of the company as TSO, implementing the necessary investments to be able to adapt to the changes within the Spanish electricity sector and also acquire those transmission assets which are not currently owned by Red Eléctrica.
Additionally, an objective of this plan is to facilitate the introduction of an increased percentage of renewable energies into the generation mix, driving demand management strategies which allow it to become an efficient and reliable system tool, and maintain the maximum level of service quality and security of supply, whilst maintaining operational and financial efficiency
Special projects
Over recent years, three special projects were undertaken, with a joint investment of 1,000 million euros, and are due to be commissioned in the period 2011-2014.
– The new interconnection with France, classified as of high-priority interest by the European Union, will allow the present interconnection capacity between both countries to be doubled. The 70 kilometres section that crosses the border will be buried underground by means of a ditch system and will be of direct current (DC), thus leading to the exceptional nature of the work. The project has a global budget of 700 million euros, half of which will be contributed by Red Eléctrica.
– The Rómulo Project, the DC submarine interconnection between Spanish peninsula and the Balearic Islands, shall be fundamentally to assure and improve the reliability of the electricity supply and to promote competition regarding the generation of electricity on the Islands. The project, which has a budget of 420 million euros, will be commissioned in 2010-2011.
– The Mallorca-Ibiza connection, with an estimated investment of 225 million euros, will be the longest alternating current (AC) submarine link put into service to date, being a reference at a world level.
Demand management
Within its function as system operator, Red Eléctrica gives special importance to actions that help in demand management in order to contribute to the most efficient functioning of the system. Pumped storage, which allows renewable energy to be taken advantage of during valley hours, international interconnections, a flexible generation and the electric vehicles, are some of the options backed by the company in order to optimise system operation and generation capacity.
