The PROA Comunicación's Dialogue entitled "Reinforcing the energy transition: grids and renewable gases", brought together Jordi Sevilla, former Minister of Public Administrations and former President of Red Eléctrica de España; Marta Castro, Director of Regulation at Aelec; Laurent Clech, General Manager at VINCI Energies Spain; Óscar Balseiro, Secretary General of Protermosolar; and Pedro Sánchez Rubal, CEO at Uriel Renovables.
Associations, experts and companies in the sector agree that it is urgent to adopt new measures to make the electricity system safe and efficient, given the risk of new blackouts, the saturation of connection nodes and the slow planning that characterises the current regulatory scenario.
This has been made clear in the Dialogue of PROA Communication dedicated to energy, and organised this Monday in Madrid by this consultancy specialising in strategic communication, corporate reputation and public affairs, founded in 2009. The round table was attended by Jordi Sevillaformer Minister of Public Administration and former President of Red Eléctrica de España; Marta CastroAelec's director of regulation; Laurent ClechGeneral Manager at VINCI Energies Spain; Óscar BalseiroSecretary General of Protermosolar; and Pedro Sánchez RubalCEO at Uriel Renovables.
The energy transition is going through a key moment and Spain can lead the way in clean energy production, becoming the world's leading country in this field. hub energy in southern Europe. However, achieving this leadership requires resolving important challenges such as strengthening electricity transmission and distribution grids, accelerating the development of generation, storage and hybridisation solutions, and organising the territorial deployment of new projects, thereby guaranteeing the competitiveness of Spanish industry.
Jordi Sevilla, as moderator of the round table, began the debate by stating that "the energy transition must be compatible with there being no blackouts and with the laws of physics". "After 28 April, the system operator presented a large number of proposals to the government and the CNMC to reduce the risk of a new blackout, but the surprising thing is that this was not done earlier, because these are measures that have been warned about for years", said the former president of Red Eléctrica.
Marta Castro said that to avoid a new blackout it is necessary to "control the voltage, as it was not a temporary problem on 28 April, but rather structural issues". For this reason, she pointed out that "the reinforced operation is not the solution, given that it opposes the energy transition and increases the bill, when there are solutions that can already be put in place as other European Union countries are doing".
The Aelec representative regretted that after an event of the magnitude of the blackout, no working group has been convened with the different agents. "So far we have not been able to sit down with the system operator, who has also proposed measures that are inapplicable because we could have an additional problem, and which the CNMC has finally postponed".
Laurent Clech, CEO at VINCI Energies Spain, stressed the need for greater electrification: "We have run too fast in having a large renewable supply and it is necessary to align it with demand, but since 2018 demand has not increased in Spain". As for technical solutions to make the grid more secure, he indicated that time is needed to implement them, as well as to train professionals, given the shortage of talent in the sector.
From the renewables sector, Óscar Balseiro said that "binding planning with real objectives is urgently needed, as the PNIEC is only a roadmap", as well as a direct and agile dialogue between the government and all the agents in the system, so that communication is not only through slow public consultation processes. Balseiro exemplified the lack of planning in the fact that the system is operating in "reinforced mode" to avoid blackouts, but that solar thermal technology plants, a renewable energy source that provides voltage and frequency control, are forced to shut down instead of contributing to security of supply.
For his part, Pedro Sánchez Rubal has insisted that it is time to plan and reflect beforehand: "It seems that issues such as storage or the role of renewables in voltage control have not been foreseen as far in advance as in other countries. Now we see that there is a reaction to what has happened, rather than planning, and that the measures are not consensual," he said.
The closure of nuclear power plants has also been the subject of analysis, once the electricity companies have notified the government of their intention to extend the useful life of the Almaraz plant until 2030. The speakers agreed that there are no clear reasons to close nuclear power plants in Spain if their owners decide to continue operating them.
Jordi Sevilla pointed out that "if only for prudence's sake, given the risk of a blackout such as the one on 28 April, it would be reasonable to extend them"; while Marta Castro, without going into the background to the companies' decision, acknowledged that the role of nuclear power in recent years "has been important and helps to control tension". Laurent Clech stated that nuclear "is technologically ready, so the debate is really about why we don't do more". The CEO of Uriel Renovables also agreed that there is no reason "to close a plant that contributes to the system and does not emit CO2"; while for Óscar Balseiro, "all technologies have their place in the planning".
In line with the need for more dialogue and planningClaudio CapdevilleBusiness Director at PROA Comunicación, highlighted in the presentation of the colloquium that "long-term planning requires that all actors, including communities, sit at the same table to define the general lines in energy matters. A common roadmap that responds to the main challenges and opportunities of today's energy transition, for example".
At the close of the Dialogue, which was attended by entrepreneurs, investors and decision-makers from the private sector, as well as representatives of business associations and journalists, there was also time for an exchange of views with the audience, showing the need of the different economic sectors for a secure and competitive energy supply.