“Catalonia is no longer in the queue for renewable energy,” says the Minister of Climate Action, David Mascort, after presenting the latest balance of project authorizations. In the last two years, after the change in regulations, the authorized 1,500 MW (megawatts) has been reached in 96 generation parks, the vast majority (91) from solar energy and the rest from wind. In the previous ten years, before the decree change, 9 MW were authorized.
These are facilities that already have the administrative endorsement to start building these facilities. According to the minister, the objective is to end the legislature with some 3,000 authorized MW of renewables.
96 generation projects have been authorized, but the portfolio is much larger: a total of 323 solar and 40 wind-for a total of 5,400 MW, the equivalent of five nuclear power plants.
“Catalonia is advancing firmly towards the renewable energy revolution”, the minister assured this Thursday, who stressed that projects are currently being processed “in less than six months”, thanks to the reinforcement of the workforce, with 125 more people.
With these data, he highlighted that “the lost decade” has been left behind and a rate at a loss” has begun to be consolidated” in the processing of renewables and has begun to consolidate a rate that should allow Catalonia to go from 14% of electricity production from renewable sources in 2022 to 50% in 2030.
Mascort has stressed that Catalonia is the seventh autonomous community in Spain in production of electricity from renewables, despite the fact that communities such as Castilla y León, Andalucía or Castilla-La Mancha have a very different orography, which facilitates large renewable installations.
“When the current Government arrived, there was a collapse in the administration. Some project had started the process but none had been authorized,” Mascort assured.
The Generalitat only processes projects of up to 50 MW, since those with higher power correspond to the Ministry of Ecological Energy Transition.
Among the projects authorized by the Generalitat, eight plots stand out, totaling some 400 MW in the Alcarràs area (Lleida) and another 400 MW in Tremp (Lleida).
In addition to the generation park projects, Catalonia already has more than 84,000 self-consumption facilities that add up to 700 MW of power. The minister calculates that before the end of the year, more than 100,000 installations will have been exceeded.
