Spain launches a new auction of renewables before the electricity war

Today, a new auction of 3,300 megawatts (MW) of installed power will be held for new wind and photovoltaic installations, which must be executed in shorter terms than on previous occasions, with the aim of reducing their generation as soon as possible high electricity prices. The auction was convened by the Ministry of Energy Transition in early September, in the midst of the escalation in electricity prices, which has been observed since spring and which skyrocketed in summer and early autumn, registering consecutive historical records.

Endesa will participate within its profitability parameters, although the company has declared that it does not need to go to develop its strategic plan, since they have an action guide of 4,000 MW from 2021 to 2023. In addition, in the last auction held on January 26, they obtained 50 MW of photovoltaic energy. Likewise, Naturgy, Capital Energy and X-Elio have also confirmed their attendance at this auction to this newspaper. Iberdrola and Acciona, however, have not wanted to reveal their position.

Entry into operation

This is the second auction with the system established by the department led by Teresa Ribera. All the power that is auctioned will have to be in operation before June 30, 2024, with a special quota of 600 MW of accelerated availability that must be operational by September 30, 2022. In addition, it provides for a reserve of 1,500 MW for onshore wind power, another 700 MW for photovoltaic and another 300 MW for local distributed generation photovoltaic facilities, leaving, therefore, 200 MW without a technological reserve.

As for small installations, the 300 MW are aimed at photovoltaic plants with a power of less than or equal to 5 MW, with a strong local character, and elements such as the population close to the site or citizen participation in the decisions are taken into account in the award. facilities. After the hearing process, more facilities have been introduced for the inhabitants close to the facilities to participate.

Second auction since 2017

The last allocation auction, the first since 2017, took place on January 26 and a total of 3,034 MW of wind and photovoltaic energy were awarded at a weighted average price of 25.31 euros and 24.47 euros per MWh, respectively, well below of those registered in the wholesale electricity market. In wind power, Capital Energy prevailed, taking 620 MW (out of 1,000). In photovoltaics, X-Elio stood out, which was awarded 315 MW, followed by Iberdrola, with 243 MW.

During 2021, other competitive bidding procedures are also planned for a minimum of 200 MW of thermoelectric solar energy, 140 MW of biomass and 20 MW for other technologies.

Source: The Economist