The energy sector has been demanding that a planning of the electrical network be prepared in which the new demand is identified based on the different industrial centers of the country and Andalusia has taken up the gauntlet. The Board has launched an expression of interest aimed at companies or entities promoting projects, as well as managers of productive spaces and other interested parties, who require new electrical power or expand what is already available.
The request for collaboration from companies and entities to evaluate the needs for electrical power in the development of industrial projects in the territory comes after the Government of Juanma Moreno has accused the central Executive of limiting the growth of the region under the proposed specific modification of the Electricity Planning with a horizon of 2026. This includes 64 new actions throughout the country, which imply an increase in net investment of 321 million euros over the 6,964 million euros originally planned, and the Board states that only 6 million euros are estimated for the autonomous community, 2% of the total.
The Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines, Jorge Paradela, has said that the figure “is very far from the population weight of Andalusia” (18%) and its position as the second community by geographical area. In this sense, Paradela has denounced that the proposal of the portfolio headed by Teresa Ribera does not include priority actions for the Andalusian Government and that “it may have a significant cost for the growth” of the region. In this sense, the Board calls on the industry to subsequently create a map of potential driving projects.
The call is open until February 15.
The call is open until February 15 and interested companies must provide the precise location of the tractor project; the scope of the project and the nature of the planned activities and expected impact in terms of investment and employment; the required electrical power and the associated deadlines; the date of request for the new supply, if applicable, among other issues. The General Secretariat of Industry and Mines highlights that, under its jurisdictional framework, information is required on “the power necessary for the development of tractor projects in Andalusia for the exclusive purposes of evaluating their potential development”, and the state transmission of said power.
Likewise, as a whole, the purpose pursued is to evaluate the potential for industrial development in the short and medium term in the different territories. “The ‘Grow Industry’ action plans articulate a proactive approach to industrial policy that seeks to generate business confidence and an adequate environment for the development of new industrial activities,” reads the Board’s notice board. The sector positively values the Board’s initiative as a anticipatory measure that offers greater vision to investors. However, it should be noted that the autonomous communities only have powers in preparing investment plans for distribution and not for the transportation network.
What about tractors?
Those promoted by one or several public or private entities or companies that contribute in a relevant way to the growth or strengthening of the value chains of industrial goods and services that are developed or may be developed, with an investment cost of more than three million euros, as described by the Junta de Andalucía.
The Andalusian Government has presented allegations regarding the modification of specific aspects of the Electric Energy Transmission Network Development Plan 2021-2026. He considers that his requests have not been attended to “despite their importance”, such as support for distribution at the Llerena substation to serve the Guadiato and Valle de los Pedroches area in the north of the province of Córdoba, the closure of the 400 kilovolt (kV) Seville ring to satisfy the energy demand of the Port of Seville, or the advancement of the execution deadline and a new supply position for the development of mining projects in the Pyrite Belt of Huelva.
It also demands that it approve the execution of the second section of the new Seville-Córdoba corridor and its connection with Castilla-La Mancha for the integration of renewables, and new positions for the evacuation of ‘green’ energies (Puerto de la Cruz, Algeciras, Puebla de Guz man, Iznalloz and Saleres) and large consumption (Litoral, La Roda de Andalucía and Archidona). The current Development Plan includes actions for Andalusia worth 515 million and the Board claims 782 million based on criteria such as population weight, surface area or electricity consumption.
According to the regional government, of those 515 million, 309 million corresponded to investments already contemplated in the previous planning for the period between 2015 and 2020, which were not executed on time, and 206 million correspond to new infrastructures. However, the Board highlights that of the amount for new actions, “only” 96 million euros, that is, 18% of the total, coinciding with investments that had been requested by Andalusia.
Ayuso says that the Government wants to leave Madrid “without energy”
The Community of Madrid has also accused the central government of wanting to leave the region “without energy”, putting “important industrial projects” at risk, by not providing the region with new investments. “Now we intend to leave the region without the energy it needs to continue growing and consolidate itself as a digital node in southern Europe. “Madrid will not receive anything, since it has only been granted a new action at no additional cost to expand the Algete substation . “said its president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
According to Ayuso herself, distributors had requested around 80 actions in the Community of Madrid to have access to 2,947 megawatts (MW) with the aim of strengthening infrastructure, promoting new ones and promoting industrial investments. The popular leader has focused on data centers and states that “85% of the infrastructure of this type in all of Spain is concentrated in the region”, with investments planned for 2026 that exceed 16,000 million euros. In his opinion, “if the proposed plan were approved, the creation of almost 18,000 direct and indirect jobs would be put at risk” and 59 data center development projects would be paralyzed.
The Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) has also urged the Government to prioritize the industry’s needs for connection to the electrical grid in its planning, so that “the economic growth of the country” can be enhanced without ceasing to work on ” current climate goals. The Executive maintains that the planning update is timely and urgent to connect projects that have received European aid and that must be executed on time, such as the Volkswagen battery factory in Sagunto (Valencia).
