The wind sector is positioned as a technological and industrial sector tractor for the recovery of the Spanish economy. The Roadmap of the wind sector 2021-2024 includes objectives in line with compliance with the PNIEC, sector requirements to meet the objectives and leading projects for the use of European funds.
The Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE) met this morning with the Fourth Vice President and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, to present the Roadmap of the wind sector for the period 2021-2024, which includes the objectives sector strategies, in accordance with compliance with the PNIEC, focused on the economic reconstruction of the country and the use of European funds.
The acceleration of the Roadmap of the wind sector is a key element for the recovery of the Spanish economy due to its driving effect on other industrial and economic sectors, as well as the creation of jobs, attraction of investments, reduction of emissions of CO2 and development of wind turbines projects throughout the territory.
The wind power sector proposes objectives (14 specific objectives) to speed up the economic recovery of the country in the short term and move towards compliance with the PNIEC at the appropriate pace and, together with the requirements to meet these objectives, as well as 9 tractor projects for the use of European funds (Recovery Plan), highlighting the need to invest efforts in the necessary instruments to be able to carry out the investments.
The 14 objectives of the wind farm sector for economic recovery are the following:
Incorporate 10 GW of new wind power in the peninsula until 2024, through auctions of wind power or other schemes and mechanisms, adding 30 TWh of clean and indigenous generation annually from that year on. Guarantee compliance with the PNIEC in 2030 with 50.3 GW of wind power for that year.
Repowering of up to 5 GW of wind power until 2025 with an increase in generation thanks to the new installations of 5 TWh / year.
Mobilization of more than € 2,500 million in investments / year on average until 2024.
Job creation: 30,000 additional value-added jobs (with professional development, trajectory, versatility, and competitive purchasing power) by 2024.
Maintain the industrial manufacturing and innovative wind power capacity in Spain, as a global wind power hub (3rd global exporter), safeguarding free market conditions for both wind raw materials and manufactured wind products.
Reduce generation extra costs in non-peninsular environments with an additional 700 MW of onshore wind power until 2024, reducing load on the PGE by € 152 M / year, improving the economic model on islands (O&M sector) and the Spain brand (sustainable tourism).
Implementation of 300 MW of commercial floating offshore wind power by 2025, as a path to reach 2-3 GW in 2030, to lead the development of this offshore wind technology and consolidate our own market as a lever for the international industrial deployment in floating offshore of our companies.
Emissions reduction of 13 M Ton CO2 / year by 2024 (more than 10% of the total emission reduction objective for 2030 of the PNIEC).
Position Spain as the main European experimentation hub in floating offshore wind.
Improve competitiveness of the electrointensive industry.
Support industrial reconversion in areas of divestments and Just Transition, maximizing opportunities to facilitate a just transition in the regions affected by the closure of fossil industrial facilities and providing plans for the future.
Serve as an effective development lever for other adjacent sectors (naval industry, construction, cybersecurity and data, etc.).
Continue to lead the active participation in technical forums to solve the challenges of integrating renewable energies into the system.
Presence as an identified actor in the National Energy Security Strategy.
To achieve the objectives set out in the Roadmap for the wind sector, AEE raises a series of regulatory requirements, to take advantage of European funds for economic reconstruction and other proposals that require new legislation in this period 2021-2024 .
The president of AEE, Juan Diego Díaz Vega, during the meeting highlighted the potential of the wind sector for the economic recovery of the country and responsibility as an industrial sector: “From the wind sector we want to convey a message of commitment about the recovery of the economy , employment and an optimistic vision of the future. All sectors have the responsibility to contribute to the reconstruction of the country and the wind sector has great potential to help society recover throughout our territory. Maximizing the use of the existing wind value chain in Spain is one of the sector’s priorities and an opportunity for the country. As a strategic sector for the Spanish economy, we are convinced of the opportunity of complying with our Roadmap, both in the generation of clean indigenous electricity, and in the generation of quality employment or industrial activity, to help overcome the crisis and advance in the decarbonization of our economy ”.
The 9 projects identified in the Roadmap for the wind sector are as follows: Repowering program for wind installations Storage projects in wind farms Continuation of calls for CAPEX aid to guarantee an adequate pace of deployment of wind installations in extra-peninsular systems Platforms of tests in deep waters for prototypes of offshore wind and marine energy Floating offshore wind tractor projects in Spain Network of onshore wind experimental platforms Support program for the integration of experimental prototypes in commercial wind farms Plan to have facilities and dissemination products and awareness about the energy transition Demonstration plants of renewable hydrogen generated with wind electricity and
During the meeting between AEE and the Minister, the president of AEE stated that “the proposal of the wind sector is forceful: more employment, more industrial activity, more innovation, more savings in the bill for fossil fuel imports, more savings in the electricity bill, more investments throughout the territory and especially in the just transition zones, and less CO2 emissions. The energy transition is a country project that has to be one of the pillars of recovery and our sector is committed to fulfilling what has been entrusted to it in the PNIEC, being able to activate, thanks to the projects presented at the meeting, more than 2,500 million investments a year in the short term, and create more than 30,000 jobs. Now it is a question of activating a virtuous regulatory circle so that these investments are launched as soon as possible, and are sustained over time. “
Among the requirements identified by the wind sector, the following should be highlighted due to the urgent nature of their enactment: The need to enact a regulation on auctions, which includes a calendar with a 5-year perspective, with a new design with a specific quota for the technology wind power and a complete regulatory development for their execution. Promulgation of a regulation of Access and Connection to the network with the application of the criterion of technical and economic solvency to applicants, schemes that allow advanced projects to recover access permits after the moratorium, among others. Modifications in administrative processing and standardization of procedures among the autonomous communities. Support for the development of offshore wind power for the establishment of investment plans, as well as a strategy for the port authorities. The Spanish wind sector identifies floating wind as a subsector to promote its development in the country. Processing of the Climate Change and Energy Transition Law, which includes: auctions, environmental taxation, electrification, administrative processing improvements, repowering, remuneration regime, duration of access and connection permits for offshore wind power and corporate tax. 9 wind projects for economic reconstruction using European funds The wind sector proposes 9 specific projects with a total support of 1,165 million euros from reconstruction funds, which would enable private investments for more than 12,000 million euros, generate 17.32 TWh of wind electricity (equivalent to 30% of the increase in wind generation foreseen in the PNIEC), reduce CO2 emissions by more than 8 M Tons of CO2 / year (7.5% of the reduction in emissions foreseen in the PNIEC) with an incentive cost per ton of CO2 reduced of € 6 ton / CO2. (Current cost € 27 / tonCO2, expected in 2030: € 42 / tonCO2), and create more than 30,000 jobs.
Taking into account the size of wind turbines projects, and their ability to mobilize large investments by company and project, it is considered key to squeeze the most of the available funds allocation instruments, and create new ad-hoc instruments for the application of the National Recovery Plans. These ad-hoc instruments should make it possible to mobilize investments in tractor-sized industrial sectors, guaranteeing a rational balance between project size, technologies and regions.
When allocating funds, it is considered necessary to prioritize those investments that drive its own value chain with an innovative load, valuing an industrial component with added value.
