Spain to hold auction for 3.3 GW of wind, solar on Nov 22

The Spanish ministry for the ecological transition on Monday announced that it will hold the next auction for wind and solar projects on November 22 to assign a total of 3,300 MW of capacity.

Project promoters will get to compete for 1,800 MW of solar PV and 1,500 MW of wind power, including for the possibility to expand or hybridise existing facilities.

The auction will be conducted under the pay-as-bid pricing rules, with projects having some exposure to the market prices. Winning bidders will not be allowed to participate in future pay-as-bid auctions to prevent them from giving up the regulatory regime awarded in this round in order to take the opportunity in the next tender, the ministry said.

The new auction announcement comes just ten days after the Spanish government said it was preparing to hold a competition for 520 MW of concentrated solar power (CSP), distributed solar PV, biomass and biogas projects on October 25.

Along with news on the auction, the ministry for the ecological transition introduced in the same breath a new package of measures to improve energy efficiency, cut down waste of electricity and gas consumption in response to EU calls for solidarity as the bloc braces for a possible gas curtailment by Russia.

The measures include requirements to turn off lights at shop windows and unoccupied public buildings after 10 PM, among others, but also accelerated permitting procedures for power grid projects and rules to connect facilities that produce renewable gases or hydrogen.

The Spanish government expects the measures to induce a rapid reduction of power and fossil gas consumption and promote electrification of the economy. It said behavioural changes could result in a 5% drop in gas and petrol demand in the short term.

Among initiatives that will support plans for fast electrification is the government’s call to award state aid to energy storage projects hybridised with renewables. The ministry for the ecological transition is also launching public consultation on the proposal to update Spain’s national energy and climate plan (NECP), which will incorporate the country’s and the EU’s new energy transition targets.

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