The Local Minister of Finance, Industry and Energy, Juan Bravo, today held a meeting with the Minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, to which he has transferred what are the most urgent needs that Andalusia presents in terms of infrastructure of the network of electric transport to improve the security of the electrical system and to attend the development of renewable energy projects and guarantee their evacuation to the network.
Andalusia has presented to the minister its proposal for priority actions with the aim of being included in the new energy planning that Red Eléctrica de España (REE) will design in the coming months and in which, for the first time, the need to maximize the integration of renewable energies in the network. The counselor, who has shared with the minister his commitment to a fair and balanced energy transition, has considered that “an opportunity that will take advantage of the extraordinary potential of renewable resources of Andalusia, boost the solid business fabric existing in the community, with more than 1,800 companies that generate more than 43,000 jobs, also contributing decisively to the fulfillment of the energy objectives of the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan “.
The National Integrated Plan for Energy and Climate (PNIEC) aims to achieve that 74% of electricity generation has a renewable origin in 2030, which means the incorporation into the system of 57,000 megawatts (MW) renewable throughout the next decade. Andalusia, in its commitment to fight against global warming through the use of its renewable potential, aspires to contribute at least 45% of that objective, that is, 25,650 MW, as Bravo has indicated during the meeting, in which also participated the Secretary General of Industry, Energy and Mines, Natalia González.
The counselor has raised this objective at the meeting, based on an exhaustive analysis of the renewable potential of the autonomous community, carried out by the Andalusian Energy Agency, which will be incorporated into the infrastructure proposal that the council will present to the Ministry in the coming days .
The potential of renewable resources analyzed in the autonomous community is more than 300,000 megawatts (MW). Specifically, Andalusia has a potential to install renewable energy projects of 312,560 megawatts (MW), of which 81% corresponds to photovoltaic resources, 8.2% to wind resources, 6.3% to solar thermal power, 3.5% to offshore wind and 0.6% to biomass.
Reflection of the interest of the promoters to develop renewable projects in Andalusia, if the guarantees of evacuation and security of the network are given, is the result of the public consultation carried out by the General Secretariat of Industry, Energy and Mines through a resolution of the past March 21, which resulted in a stock market of more than 20,500 MW in just fifteen days.
Andalusian proposal for the development of the transport network
Bravo has conveyed to the minister his satisfaction that for the first time, the planning process includes among its guiding principles the integration of renewables in the system, which he considers an “unprecedented opportunity for Andalusia to be endowed with transportation infrastructures of electric power to promote their economic development, while also becoming a renewable reference in the European field “,
At present, there are at least 32 saturated nodes in the Andalusian community that have practically no capacity for connecting new projects, in addition to six major axes that extend through areas of high renewable resources and that are either already saturated or in saturation phase, and where there is more demand for renewable developments.
At the end of 2018, the community had installed 6,104 MW of renewable electric power to which add another 9,689 MW of projects whose access to the network has been authorized. The current available capacity is estimated at 4,531 MW, a figure that does not even cover the projects that have already requested access to the network, and which is therefore insufficient to achieve the objectives set in the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan. For this reason, Andalusia requires a transport network capable of evacuating the energy generated by renewable projects and allowing the current capacity to be expanded by 11,430 MW to fulfill the aspiration to reach those 25,650 MW installed by the 2030 horizon.
