“Spain has great potential but lack geothermal legislation and investment.” Besides being clean, renewable and friendly, easily manageable, which contributes to security of energy supply.
However, like other renewable energy sources, requires the development of sustainable energy technology push policies and efficient and environment economic support.
Given the strong development of geothermal energy in Europe, and the study published in Spain’s development potential to 2030, Editorial Conferences and Training Unit is organizing the next conference November 26 ‘high enthalpy geothermal energy‘, which will gather the best experts explain national and international investment opportunities in this energy source.
Although geothermal energy has little tradition in Spain to other countries such as Sweden, Germany, Austria or the United States, there is a legal framework that allows such facilities to defend
Explains Juan Pedro Luna, head of the Mine Area and Facilities Security General Directorate for Industry, Energy and Mines of the Community of Madrid. However, “we must distinguish between high enthalpy geothermal energy, which is provided under the Mines Act, and facilities for low and very low enthalpy, which find their accommodation in the Basic Rules of Mine Safety and represent 80% of occasions, “he adds.
Margarita de Gregorio, head of thermoelectric power of APPA (Association of Renewable Energy Producers) and coordinator of the Technical Secretariat of GEOPLAT (Geothermal Spanish Platform), goes further and notes that the Royal Decree 661/2007 of 25 May, which regulates the activity of production of energy in special regime, “it believes geothermal energy in its scope, and also establishes an economic system and mechanisms for retribution, but make a mistake, because this energy classified as unmanaged. The high enthalpy geothermal energy is thermal energy and therefore, quite manageable. ”
The current state of the sector in Spain is clear: “There are no plants in production, but is expected to have the first facilities in the short to medium term,” De Gregorio. “There is a considerable number of companies in Spain with real interests in the sector,” he adds, but for projects to become reality first “is necessary to determine the appeal and, above all, have the framework of appropriate support to help the promoter in the risk taking that are particularly involved in certain phases of the project and to provide regulatory and safety both at the same salary. ”
The scenarios envisaged for 2020 and 2030 “will come from the hand of geothermal potential exists in Spain and promotion policies and support for the sector, both in the field of ID i is concerned, as in the purely regulatory” , Case De Gregorio.
The roads are public bodies for the promotion of a technology or activity are basically two: the regulation and stimulative, “said Luna. “The first includes the establishment of normative obligations to regulate and require, as is the case with the Technical Building Code to renewable energy, the latter includes a whole range of promotional activities and the economic incentive grant by the lines “he adds.
Similarly think from the business sector, when Raul Hidalgo, director of operations PETRATHERM Spain, explains, “We should articulate various measures to facilitate the momentum of the sector, promoting the development of basic research resources, developing programs ID i to solve the outstanding technological challenges and defining mechanisms for reducing the risks associated with the initial investment phase (drilling). ”
De Gregorio, meanwhile, notes that, through the IDEA (Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving of Energy - MITT), “it has been state action, which resulted in the conclusion of agreements with regional governments to co-finance aid for the sector. Cantabria, Castilla y León, Comunidad Valenciana, Madrid, Murcia and Basque Country are some of the communities with various programs of assistance for geothermal technologies. ”
One of the main barriers to the development of geothermal energy over other renewable “is the configuration of the investment,” says Hidalgo. This technology requires an investment in the initial research phase, which entails a high risk. In return, the production and maintenance costs per megawatt generated are among the lowest of all renewables. “The importance of developing mechanisms to promote the mitigation of this risk at an early stage is essential,” he says, adding that “must be accompanied by a compensation policy that, in a similar way as has happened with other renewables, to facilitate the take-off geothermal sector in our country. ”
The geothermal potential of Spain as we know it is in large part a result of investigations carried out during the 70’s and 80 by the Geological Survey of Spain (EGME). However, this important initial effort was not sustained and in the last 15 years there has been little progress in the development of geothermal energy.
The key geothermal areas, said De Gregorio, include “the Canary Islands, with the potential for the development of conventional geothermal, large sedimentary basins of the Iberian peninsula, with capacity to develop geothermal systems in deep sediments and its associated aquifers and zones deep fractures by circulating fluid at high temperatures and can be susceptible to developing geothermal systems stimulated. ”
Spain has a similar geothermal potential of its neighbors, but has a lower level of development. Germany has four production plants in France and Italy has a central core Larderello exploits and has several planned in the Americas. The difference between these countries and Spain is that the former take several years to promote basic research funding, promoting measures to mitigate the risk of developing the initial investment and compensation policies that encourage the development of the sector.
