Andalusia is the Spanish region «with the greatest and best renewable resource», with 43% of the solar thermal megawatts (MW) installed in Spain; the first autonomous community in solar thermal power, surpassing the million square meters of solar collection surface; It has more than 1,000 photovoltaic MW in operation and solar radiation 13% higher than the national average. It also has the largest electrical power installed with biomass and 147 wind farms that place it as the fourth largest wind power community connected to red.
These are data provided by the Minister of Finance, Industry and Energy, Juan Bravo, in a parliamentary committee, in which he highlighted that Andalusia has a total of 6,104 MW of renewable electric power, which generates around 39% of electricity that consumes the community, and that «the location in a preferential position for the development of these projects with respect to the rest of the autonomous communities».
Bravo has pointed out that, for the first time and as the main novelty, the binding planning of the electric transport network includes among its guiding principles the maximum penetration of renewable energies in the electrical system. «This is an unprecedented opportunity for Andalusia to provide itself with infrastructures that foster its economic development and become a renewable benchmark in Europe.»
The potential to house renewable plants in Andalusia exceeds 310,000 megawatts (MW), mostly solar, technology that makes the difference with the rest of the national territory and that, due to its current technological development, can contribute greater efficiency to a system of Generation of renewable base. The community also has a business network with more than 1,800 companies that generate more than 43,000 jobs.
In Spain, the roadmap is marked by the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), which contemplates the very ambitious goals and commitments for 2030 in terms of emission reduction, participation of renewables in final consumption and energy efficiency . Specifically, they find a renewable contribution to consumption of 42%, reach 22% of renewables in transport via electrification and biofuels, and 74% of the electricity generation have renewable origin, which means the generation of 57,000 MW (megawatts) renewable between 2020 and 2030.
«From Andalusia we want to contribute 45% of the new renewable power that the PNIEC contemplates, that is, 25,650 megawatts additional to those already reduced». For this, the Andalusian Energy Agency has conducted a study aimed at identifying the needs of electrical infrastructure to achieve a level of renewable energy implementation consistent with the gross potential available to our community.
Last May, the counselor met with the Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, to convey problems with the most urgent needs of Andalusia in terms of infrastructure of the electric transport network to improve the safety of the electrical system and to attend the development of renewable energy projects and threats their evacuation to the network.
The starting point of Andalusia is the following: the community has 6,104 MW of renewable electricity installed, to which another 9,689 MW of renewable projects (95% of photovoltaic technology) will be added, whose access to the network has been authorized and They are pending start-up. Along with this, another 14,000 MW are counted in renewable projects pending access and network connection.
According to a query made by the Andalusian Energy Agency, the promoters pointed to a demand pool of 21,658 MW of renewable power, however, the available free capacity of the network is just over 4,500 MW, a figure that does not cover too much the projects that have already requested access to the network. This, in addition to renewable projects in promotion, indicates that, in the face of the next planning of electrical infrastructure, it is necessary to expand the current capacity by 11,430 MW. Therefore, it is essential that this region has a transport network that guarantees the evacuation of the energy generated by the new solar projects, a proposal that is «everyone’s responsibility» defender for the general interest of the Andalusians.
According to REE data, there are currently 32 saturated knots in Andalusia that have virtually no capacity for connecting new projects. In addition, there are six major axes that are saturated or in the saturation phase, which extend through areas of high renewable resources and where there is a high demand for projects.
According to REE data, there are currently 32 saturated knots in Andalusia that have virtually no capacity for connecting new projects. In addition, there are six major axes that are saturated or in the saturation phase, which extend through areas of high renewable resources and where there is a high demand for projects. Thus, the proposal of the Board to the Ministry and REE goes through demanding an important development in 400 kV axes that improves the capacity of connection of Andalusia with the rest of Spain, which is invested in large interior axes for the evacuation of the renewable resource and that 15 new 220 and 400 kV substations be built, as well as the extension of existing ones, without forgetting that all this will also allow support to the distribution network.
The proposal includes actions in all Andalusian provinces that ensure territorially balanced development, but there are five infrastructure blocks that have an impact on geographical areas that represent 36.8% of the Andalusian area and that affect 2.3 million inhabitants of 190 municipalities. «The infrastructure deficit seriously conditions the development of these regions, which are condemned to isolation and depopulation for not having alternatives for economic development».
In addition, it demands that the infrastructure included in the current development planning of the 2015-2020 transport network be executed, and that those that may be pending at the end of that period, as is likely to occur with the closure of the Bazaar Axis. The Ribina that is in administrative processing, is automatically included in the new planning of the transport network 2021-2026 and is completed in the shortest possible time. «Andalusia plays a lot in this planning exercise, which will affect our economy, the environment and the cohesion of our entire territory. We have enormous potential and we will not miss this historic opportunity to be at the forefront of a decarbonized economy.
