In the context of XX Annual CHP Congress The sector has requested a two-year extension of the operating fee received by power stations reaching the end of their lifespan. In this way, 145 factories could remain operational, generating approximately 1,100 MW, i.e. a quarter of the sector’s production in the country.
ACOGEN and COGEN Spain recently held their XX Annual Congress Cogeneration under the motto “Cogeneration, sustainable future for the industry.”
Víctor Marcos, General Director of Energy Planning and Coordination of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, representative of the Secretary of State for Energy, presided over the opening of the Congress, which had more than 150 participants. During his speech, he announced that prior consultation is open on the handling of the Framework for a 1,200 MW cogeneration auction.
The President of ACOGEN, Rubén Hernando, emphasized during the inauguration that since last June the cogeneration It has a new operational framework that marks the beginning of a new phase for the sector and its associated industries. “We thank the team of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge for the work done. “There have been months of intensive collaboration to reach a framework that is suitable for today’s energy markets and the realities of our industries,” said Hernando, adding that the new operational framework in Cogeneration enables more effective and integrated management of energy and industrial production, which will facilitate companies’ decision-making.
“Now the industries want to start the race to start a new investment cycle with the call for auctions of 1,200 MW of cogeneration, that more than 200 industries are waiting to increase their competitiveness, decarbonization and digitalization,” stressed the President of ACOGEN. “It is time to invest, to call on the auctions to invest more than 800 million euros in gearsegeneration that the sector desperately needs and which has postponed the energy crisis since its announcement in the same forum three years ago. As a result of this slowdown, more than a hundred factories have reached the end of their profitable life, without the ability to technological and ecological innovation is your best toolthe cogeneration.”
For his part, the President of COGEN Spain, Julio Artiñano, noted: “There is room to expand the renewable energy in cogeneration, that can act as a vector for efficient consumption of renewable fuels and hybridize different technologies in industry, which is already a trend across Europe. The cogeneration can support decarbonization as a technology that closes the loop in the demand for heat that is still difficult to electrify due to the high temperature or due to the seasonality of the renewable resource, while moving towards decarbonization in 2050 and addressing current challenges area of sustainable development solving energies.”
In conclusion, he added: “We are at a time when the industry needs to make investment decisions to remain competitive over the next decade, focusing on energy efficiency and decarbonisation. This is what the cogeneration The announcement of ongoing auctions is necessary to stimulate the necessary renovation of the park. This way it will be possible continue to ensure efficiency and competitiveness to the industry, the efficient integration of renewable energies mature technologies such as biogas and biomethane and contribute to the flexibility of the system with facilities such as storage, creating an increasingly multi-tech industrial park.”
The accumulated decline in cogeneration amounts to 35% in the past three years
National electricity generation with Cogeneration has fallen by 35% in the past three yearss due to the obsolescence of the previous operational framework, from 2015. Currently production of cogeneration It generates only 6.5% of the national electricity, compared to the 11% it had historically produced. A situation that fortunately seems to be disappearing since the entry into force of the new methodology.
Las demands from the CHP sector to the ministry They are now focusing on two points: first, that the investment framework be declared before the end of the year, while the auctions of 1,200 MW are pending from 2021; the second, extending the compensation for the operation of power stations reaching the end of their life, so that they can remain operational until they can participate in the auctions.
Cogeneration auctions
The industry needs a new investment cycle to compete by gradually implementing low-carbon technologies adapt to the new mix of renewable energy generationwith flexibility and digitalization.
In 2024, 25% of cogeneration units – 111 industries with 850 MW – have reached the end of their legal lifespan and are still expected to do so. attend the 1,200 MW cogeneration auctions announced three years ago and included in the PNIEC update last September. In two years, this percentage will increase to 50% of the sector with more than 170 industries and 1,800 MW.
These auctions are keys to competitiveness and energy transition 20% of industrial GDP consists of companies – 70% multinationals and 60% SMEs in food, chemicals, paper, ceramics, refining, automobiles, etc., which compete and export 50% of their products.
There is an urgent need to provide certainty to investments in industries by promulgating the framework in 2024. The auctions of 1,200 MW cogeneration, in which around 200 industries will invest in competitiveness, decarbonisation and digitalisation, they will mobilize investments of €800 million in cogeneration and will act as a catalyst, multiplying other industrial investments that can fix industrial production in Spain and achieve greater investments production capacities and other energy technologiesS.
Transitional measure to promote industrial competitiveness
ACOGEN and COGEN Spain consider a transitional measure necessary to allow the plants to continue functioning until the investments are completed. Due to the three-year delay in the introduction of the investment framework, a transitional measure so that cogeneration industries They can remain operational until the new investments are completed with the 1,200 MW auctions planned in the PNIEC and announced in 2021.
Extending the compensation for the operation of plants reaching the end of their life for two years, as happened in 2019, would allow maintaining competitive operation in 145 plants, 1,100 MW, representing 25% of the sector in Representing Spain, with 40 factories. % of the sector is concentrated in Catalonia and 30% in the Valencian Community. To do this, the sector has the support of ERC, Junts, PNV and PP and has requested their inclusion in the “Industrial and strategic autonomy legislation” (transitional provision).
Regulators and political parties
The conference started with the intervention of Miguel Gil, Chief Operations Officer – Energy Solutions- at Capwatt (Sonae Group) for Spain and Portugal. Then the vision of politicians and supervisors. Session 1, In a Political Key, featured the intervention of the responsible for the energy of political parties: José Antonio Valbuena, PSOE; Juan Diego Requena, PP; Pilar Calvo, Junts; Teresa Jordà, ERC; José María Figaredo, Vox; Idoia Sagastizabal, PNV; and Txema Guijarro Garcia, Sumar; moderated by Ramón Roca, founder and director of El Periódico de la Energía.
Then session 2, Regulatory visionintroduced by Josep María Sala, advisor of the CNMC, had the participation of Jesús Ferrero, Deputy Director General of Renewable Energies of the MITERD; Tomás Domínguez, director of operations at REE; Yolanda Cuéllar, Director of Market Operations at OMI Polo Español (OMIE); María Junco, General Manager Technical System Management (GTS) at Enagás; and Raúl Yunta, Chairman of MIBGAS. The morning closing was provided by Fernando Martínez, Business Development Energy Solutions at Engie.
The afternoon started with the third session, European Visionwith the intervention of Hans Korteweg, general manager of COGEN Europe; Anders Stuxberg, specialist in process integration of power plants at Siemens Energy; Stefan Liesner, Director of Marketing and Public Affairs at 2G Energy and Vice President of the German Association of Cogeneration; Klaus Payrhuber, director of strategic product development at INNIO Jenbacher; and Jiří Janša, Deputy Sales Director of TEDOM Group, moderated by Raimon Argemí, Member of the Executive Committee of COGEN Europe and COGEN Spain, and Vice President and General Manager of AESA.
Congress continued with the participation of the honorary chairman of INERCOVicente Cortés, who introduced the fourth session, Sustainable Future: Energy Vision, moderated by the Vice President of COGEN Spain, Pablo García. With contributions from Alberto Martín García, consulting director in the energy sector at PWC; Marta Anchústegui, project development director of Energynest; and Antonio Cortes, CEO Neoelectra. This session then ended with the intervention of Francisco Esteban, commercial director of Shell Spain Lubricant.
EIn the fifth and final session of the congress, the general manager of ACOGEN spokeJavier Rodríguez was in charge of introducing and moderating the panel dedicated to the industry, Sustainable future: industrial vision, which brought together Ricard Vila, Director of Consulting at AESA; Joaquín Lopez, director of ANEO (National Association of Pomace Oil Companies); Eduardo Arcos, director of Green H2 Project Development of Smartenergy; and Gabriel Díaz, Digital Business Development & Connectivity Manager of Solar Turbines.
The annual CHP conference is sponsored by Axpo, Aprovis, Baker Hugues, Bergen Engines, CapWatt, Engie, GE Vernova, Iberdrola cogeneration, MWM, Naturgy, Neoelectra, Shell, Siemens Energy, SmartEnergy and Wärtsilä.
Víctor Marcos, General Director of Energy Planning and Coordination of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, was responsible for announcing the opening of the pre-congress public consultation for the processing of the auction framework for 1,200 MW cogeneration. The sector is expected to recover from 2025, thanks to various measures that will be taken to this end.