Wind to play central role in Spain’s post-Covid recovery

Spain’s wind sector will be among the main beneficiaries of a €6.5 billion green energy transition grant, part of a €72 billion national economic recuperation package announced by prime minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday (7 October).

National wind association AEE responded by presenting the government with its nine-point plan to kick-start the recovery, aimed at dedicating €1.17 billion of the allocation to wind-related actions.

Spain has been allocated €140 billion of a €750 billion recovery package to 2026 for Covid-hit European economies the EU approved in July. More than half— the €72 billion announced by Sánchez— is by way of a direct grant starting 2021; the remaining €68 billion will be in soft loans. Overall, EU conditions require 37% of the package to go to commitments under its green deal.

While the government has not yet earmarked a specific amount for wind, AEE is confidently expectant. “Wind power is one of Spain’s most valuable and transformative economic sectors,” Teresa Ribera, minister for ecological transition, had said at AEE’s annual congress days earlier. “We now need to shape regulation to give it the leading role it deserves.”

At the same event, Kadri Simson, EU commissioner for energy, highlighted revisions Spain has made throughout 2020 of its climate and energy plan (NCEP), now committing the country to 40GW of wind power by 2025 and 60GW by 2030, up from just under 26GW today. An earlier NCEP draft put the wind target at 50.3GW to 2030.

AEE’s nine-point plan aims to encourage nascent technologies vital to stimulate wind power growth, including battery storage and hydrogen production at wind farms.

Large-scale repowering projects and floating offshore wind projects also play a key role.

Ribera said at the AEE congress that the frameworks for new renewables power auctions will be in place before the end of the year. AEE wants specific auctions to promote each of the nine programmes.

In all, AEE says its plan envisages activating €12 billion of total related private-sector investments, while producing 17.32TWh of energy annually in 2025-2030.