The ‘Smartcity’ consortium -led by Endesa- signs a euro 21 million financing deal with CDTI

Members of the "SmartCity" consortium –which is led by Endesa- have signed a finance agreement with the Industrial Technological Development Centre (CDTI), which reports to the Ministry of Science and Innovation. CDTI will use its technology fund to finance Euro 21 million out of the total Euro 31 million budget for the four-year project.

The SmartCity project, headed by Endesa, is being carried out by a group of eleven companies to develop a new energy management model for cities to achieve increased energy efficiency, lower CO2 emissions and increased consumption of renewable energy. The overall objective of the project is to achieve 20% energy savings, and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 6,000 tonnes per year. The project covers the Playa de la Misericordia area of Malaga, and will benefit 300 industrial customers, 900 service providers and 11,000 households.

The renewable-energy sources will be linked into the grid to balance generation more closely to consumption by installing photovoltaic panels on public buildings, using micro power generation in some hotels and installing micro wind power systems in the area. Batteries will be used to store the energy generated, so that some of the energy can later be used for climate control of buildings, public lighting and electric vehicles.

Furthermore, recharging stations will be installed and a small fleet of vehicles will be dispatched to encourage the use of electric cars. Above all, however, the objective is to make end-users active participants in this effort. All the customers involved in the project will be provided with new intelligent meters which have been developed for remote management to encourage more sustainable electricity consumption. The installation of advanced telecommunications and remote control systems will permit real-time and automated adjustments to the distribution network for a new form of energy management and improved service quality.

Endesa is heading a team of leading companies from the sector, who are working together to develop this far-reaching plan. The companies involved are: Enel, Acciona, IBM, Sadiel, Ormazábal, Neo Metrics, Isotrol, Telvent, Ingeteam and Greenpower. Other contributors include various universities as well as national and regional research centres.

The Industrial Technological Development Centre (CDTI) is a state-owned company reporting to the Ministry of Science and Innovation, which promotes innovation and technological development by Spanish companies.

www.endesa.es