Endesa wins Spain's tender to hook renewables in former coal plant area

Spanish electric utility Endesa SA (BME:ELE) has been awarded capacity at a node that was once used by its now demolished 1,100-MW thermal power plant in the region of Aragon, media in Spain reported on Monday.

The award comes nearly a year after the Spanish ministry for the ecological transition launched a competitive procedure to select renewable energy projects that can take over the 400-kV Mudejar node, vacated after Endesa took offline the Andorra coal-fired power plant.

The utility was one of 11 bidders competing for 1,202 MW of the available capacity, and secured the provisional award for 953 MW, according to Aragon-based daily Diario de Teruel. Several reports also cited Endesa’s statement saying that the company had heard informally about its win, and was waiting for the formal notice.

The ministry said on Twitter that the tender was finalised, but did not reveal the name of the winning bidder. According to its brief statement, communities around Mudejar and the former Andorra plant can expect an investment of EUR 1.2 billion (USD 1.16bn) and more than 3,500 jobs.

To secure the award, bidders had to demonstrate that their wind or solar project proposal would bring socio-economic benefits to the area, which is at risk of downturn now that Endesa’s power plant complex is gone. The ability to create employment was more valued in the scoring process than other characteristics of the project, including the environmental impact.

Tender win or not, Endesa has made separate commitments to support communities that once depended for work on its coal-fired power plants, and is currently building a 49.7-MWp solar farm at Andorra’s former landfill.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 0.971)

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