Generating success

Castilla-La Mancha is one of Spain’s most progressive regions when it comes to sourcing energy from renewables, but it cannot work alone, argues Benito Montiel

Castilla-La Mancha has experienced a spectacular growth in the renewable energies sector since 2000. The amount of power sent to the national grid from renewable electric sources in Spain in general has doubled since that date, and has increased by three times in Castilla-La Mancha. The region has a strong awareness of environmental issues, and the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha has worked hard to bring its policies in line with the national and EU directives on reducing our dependency on fossil fuels, promoting renewable energies and efficiency in energy generation in order to promote the sustainable development of the European economy, society and environment in line with the Kyoto Protocol.

The national legal framework for developing sustainable energy sets a target of 12.1 per cent of primary energy consumption to come from renewables by in 2010. In addition, the action plan for energy efficiency 2008-2012 calls for savings of 87.9 MTEP (million tons of oil equivalent), which equates to 60 per cent of the primary energy consumed in 2006. The long-term plan for sustainable energy production sets strategic aims for energy efficiency (reducing energy intensity by one per cent and limiting emissions of CO2) and for the transition to renewable energy sources (with the aim of producing 36.7 per cent of electric power, and satisfying 26 per cent of the region’s primary energy, with renewable energies, and replacing hydrocarbons by biofuels in transport).

Exporting energy is a key part of Castilla-La Mancha’s long-term programme. We already export large amounts of energy - 6.489 GWh were exported in 2006, some 34.6 per cent of the regional production of generated electric power, which 30.9 per cent was generated by means of renewable energies (wind 18.9 per cent, biomass 0.8 per cent, hydro-electric 3.8  per cent and cogeneration 7.4 per cent). Castilla-La Mancha is also one of the best regions of Spain when it comes to the total amount of power sent to the grid from renewable energy sources.

In Castilla-La Mancha we believe that renewable energies are the way to a sustainable future, and we view them as both a challenge and an opportunity. But we believe that the consolidation, extension and future development of renewable energy in the region will be possible thanks to the economic support from the region and the continued improvements to the regional transport and supply infrastructure. The regional authorities have pledged to invest €860m between 2008-2013 in new infrastructure for gas, and €300m (between 2008-2016) in new infrastructure for renewable energies.
But we cannot act alone; we need to have cooperation from the national government – which shares our aims – and from other regional authorities not least to provide a consistent legal framework within which renewable energy projects can grow across the region and the country as a whole.

Above all, perhaps, we need to work as hard as we can on cutting the cost of generating electricity from renewable sources, as this is the element most likely to stimulate further development in this area.