Catalonia has historically entrusted its prosperity to a pioneering push for electricity. For this reason, the end of the cycle of the three Tarragona nuclear power plants (the last one should close in 2035), which provide 55% of electricity demand, requires an early response. Nevertheless, the insufficient development that renewable sources have had in Catalonia, a paralysis in the processing of 10-year projects and the social (and sometimes political) contestation generate doubts about the country’s ability to meet this future demand to cover . Meanwhile, the fact that a good part of the proposed solution comes from a private initiative that promotes the opening of three corridors of very high voltage lines (MAT) coming from Aragon collides with the imagination of what for many people it must be Catalan energy sovereignty.
The great alternative to the closure of nuclear plants in Catalonia today is, therefore, the green battery, with dozens of wind and photovoltaic farms, which is being set up in Aragon, from where the three corridors will leave. The administrative processing of the so-called Sputnik project – driven by Forestalia – is going at cruising speed. And it is in this scenario that the monographic debate on the development of renewables that will take place in Parliament on Tuesday is framed.
This will be an opportunity to look in the mirror. Here, renewable sources (including hydroelectric) contribute 15.6% of the electricity mix, while the goal is to reach 50% by 2030, according to energy planning. At the current rate, onshore wind energy is only in a position to reach 46% of the planned goals for 2030, while in the case of photovoltaic projects it could reach 78% of the goal set for end of the decade, according to sources in the sector.
The ERC Government claims that these two years of management have broken the inertia of paralysis in the promotion of renewables. It claims that it is promoting a decentralized and participative energy model, and provides as a guarantee of its management the approval of 1,600 MW of authorized renewables and six new installations in service. On the other hand, the PSC iJunts only recognize the merit in the deployment of self-consumption (domestic and industrial), but reproach him that small projects are not enough.
Meanwhile, the processing of Aragon’s high-voltage lines is progressing at an accelerated rate and will stir up a debate that threatens to spark sparks that will even reach the central government. The first big flash was already seen after the previous administrative authorization given by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition to the Valmuel-Begues line (182 km in Catalonia through eight Tarragona counties) was made public. And, in the same way, the tension has been increasing with the administrative steps taken for the other two MAT lines (the Pierola and Isona).
The Valmuel-Begues line (the first piece of this great puzzle) obtained a favorable environmental impact statement in May (the key step), but conditional on the General Directorate of Environmental Policies of the Generalitat issuing a report on biodiversity (to assess environmental impacts on spaces and species and be able to remedy them). Explicitly, the ministry points out that the line will not obtain final authorization without “the agreement” of the Generalitat.
But the Generalitat feels that the Ministry is burdening it. Councilor David Mascort accuses the ministry of “wanting to pass on responsibility” and of putting them under “pressure” to give the go-ahead to the MAT.
Mascort states that prior mandatory technical reports on this file, delivered by the Generalitat months ago, should have already allowed the ministry to issue a negative environmental impact statement along these lines. On the other hand, the ministry replies that the Government’s position has been ambiguous. “They told us that they did not have enough information to assess the project based on the information provided by Forestalia. So what does this mean?” they criticize. Who has to move the file?
It will be key to know if the report on biodiversity issued by the Generalitat will set environmental conditions so strict that it could make the line unviable. But from the Government it is pointed out that the central administration has a hidden letter: to declare the strategic interest of the line to overcome the possible hurdle of the Generalitat.
In this context, ERC seems to have overcome the fear of being accused of blocking renewables, with its speech of “proximity renewables”, and very aware that if it is interpreted as endorsing the MAT, it risks being confronted by the territory, true factual power of this party. The ministry doesn’t want to be electrocuted in Catalonia, but ERC doesn’t want to burn itself out in the regions of Tarragona either. As if there wasn’t enough tension, ERC defends itself by wanting to spread the word that Forestalia has the collaboration of former senior officials of the CiU governments to recreate a revolving door in Catalan (Felip Puig, Josep Grau, Pere Palacín…) . The spokeswoman for ERC, Marta Vilalta, has proposed their appearance (with Minister Teresa Ribera) in a commission in Parliament so they can clarify whether “they are on the side of the oligopoly or the people”. Can this strategy cause a short circuit with a fire that spreads to the investiture? Acting Minister Teresa Ribera has pre-emptively blown the leads to avoid greater harm, and is delaying the interview with Councilor Mascort. Some also call this deflaming.
