Andalusia advances in the challenge of becoming the national power of renewable energies. After growing 4.7% by adding 787 megawatts (MW) to its sustainable electricity generation park, the region has placed itself in second position in the national ranking of renewable power headed by Castilla y León. In addition, the Community leads the attraction of investments by multinationals that want to develop their projects here in the coming years.
According to the data provided by Red Eléctrica de España, the increase in the Andalusian generation park lies mainly in the entry into service of new MW of solar photovoltaic and wind capacity. Particularly noteworthy is the 42.8% increase in photovoltaic installed power, thus reaching 2,547 MW in the region. At the beginning of 2021, more than a fifth of the Spanish photovoltaic solar capacity was installed in Andalusia, making it the second community in the country with the most MW of photovoltaic solar, only behind Extremadura.
“The National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan sets some ambitious objectives, but also realistic and achievable, to mitigate climate change by moving towards a new system in which renewable energies are the fundamental piece. And on this path, that of transition energy, the electricity sector plays a key role due to its decarbonisation potential”, indicates the president of Red Eléctrica, Beatriz Corredor.
A transition towards a new sustainable energy model that has also become a powerful driver of investment in Andalusia, which plans to make the region the main power in Spain and one of the most important in Europe in this regard.
The renewable energy sector has a portfolio of more than 17,000 million
The geographical and climatic conditions of Andalusia have already captured the interest of important multinational companies that have already begun to implement their projects. In fact, according to data from the Andalusian Government, the region has a portfolio of more than 17,000 million euros of private investment in renewable energy. The Board has a specific plan to accelerate these projects of what is already known as the “green revolution.” Most of the new projected infrastructures are photovoltaic only power plants, although some wind, other thermal or even biomass power plants will also be built.
This same month the Junta declared two photovoltaic solar energy projects promoted by the companies Repsol Renovables and Ignis Energía in the provinces of Cádiz and Seville of strategic interest for Andalusia, which represent a global investment of 261 million and the generation of 1,210 jobs during the construction and development of ten plants.
The Sigma project, by Repsol Renovables, which will involve an estimated investment of 107.2 million euros, includes the implementation of five photovoltaic solar plants with a total power of 204 MW in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz). This infrastructure, which will be installed on an area of 362 hectares, will be completed with the corresponding evacuation infrastructure, which will cross, in addition to Jerez, the Cadiz municipalities of Arcos de la Frontera and San José del Valle. The project also includes the construction of a new booster substation and the expansion of an existing one.
The development of this action will lead to the creation of 774 jobs during the construction phase, which will last twelve months, and in the operation and maintenance phase, quantified in 40 years.
For its part, the Kairós-Ignis project, promoted by Ignis Energía, will be located in the Seville municipality of Guillena and provides for the installation of another five photovoltaic solar plants with a total potential of 210.30 MW and an estimated budget of 154 million. In addition to the plants, which will be projected over an area of 360 hectares, the initiative also includes the construction of a nine kilometer evacuation line and a single booster substation. The development of this business investment will lead to the creation of 462 jobs during the construction (18 months) and operation (40 years) phases.
Eleven wind energy projects and 58 photovoltaic energy projects are being processed in Malaga which, if completed, only the latter would involve an investment of more than 1,000 million euros and would generate more than 5,600 direct jobs in their construction. These projects would contribute a total of 1,719.62 megawatts to the province’s energy mix, which would mean doubling the total megawatts that renewable energies in Malaga had provided up to now, which at the end of 2020 accounted for 940.85 MW. Currently in Malaga, of all the electrical energy that is generated, 49.5 percent comes from renewable energy.
Those projects will leave investments in Andalusia in the coming years, but the region has already begun to register the economic impact of this energy revolution. The renewable energy sector invested 750 million euros in Andalusia last year, which generated the creation of 3,000 jobs just in the construction of new infrastructures.
One of the aspects that the Junta de Andalucía values when giving the green light to these projects is their contribution to the generation of wealth, and that is that most of the infrastructures are located in rural areas, where they create numerous jobs and contribute both to territorial cohesion and to the fight against depopulation.
Facebook Comments
Disqus