A storm is brewing – which I’ve been ignoring so far because it was boring – about the new Planificación Nacional de la Red del Transporte Eléctrico 2015 – 2020 which only contemplates basic maintenance for Almería’s electricity network. That’s the national plan for the National Electricity Grid.
The plan gives Almería just 34 million euros to keep it’s part of the national grid running, rather than the 68 million expected and which would correspond to its “fair share”, if you calculate the population and size of the province compared to what other regions of Spain are getting.
This means that there will be no new wind parks or solar generators in the province as there isn’t any cash to build new lines to connect them to the National Grid. If you want to build a wind park, you’ll have to pay for it yourself, which would include land expropriation, etc etc etc which makes the whole thing infeasible.
The Junta de Andalucia claims there are 15 wind parks planned for the province, plus a new solar plant in Tabernas, which will all be cancelled under the new plan. A new substation in Tabernas which would have connected them up has also been shelved. Nine of those wind parks are in Levante, Almanzora and Los Vélez; the other six around Tabernas.
Fair enough – this government has made it clear it’s not going to spend another cent on renewable energy, has broken previous promises and is actively trying to stamp out home generation in order to keep collecting the taxes.
It also means that there is no possibility of the Granada Ave line until after 2020, as it would require a new line under the PNRTE.
The various business associations of Almería have also got together to complain about the PNRTE and demand more investment.