An investment of 30 M euros is foreseen for three projects of pellet factories in Extremadura

Interview with Francisco Castañares, from the Extremadura Association of Forestry and Environmental Companies, published in the ENERGIA EXTREMADURA 2020 Yearbook.

The Junta de Extremadura has approved aid for the start-up of three biomass pellet production plants in Moraleja, Caminomorisco and Herrera del Duque. What will be the main characteristics?

The Board has approved to award a grant of 2 million euros to each of the plants, for an investment of around 30 million as a whole. All three floors are identical. They are designed for an annual production of 70.000 tons of pellets each and will also consume about 30.000 tons of chips to feed their own boilers. In total, they will extract about 300.000 tons of biomass per year from our mountains for thermal energy uses, so they will be of great help to reduce forest fuel and help prevent major fires.

When will pellet production start in these plants?

We have been behind for too long, but nothing could be done until the autonomous government resolved the aid it had called two years ago. Now the developers have to close the acquisition of the land, complete the financing and start its construction. Ideally, between this autumn / winter of 2020, the first of them will begin construction and the other two will do so throughout 2021. The first pellets should go on the market in the second half of next year, if construction does not accumulate further delays, which I hope not. The promoters have a period of 18 months to carry out the works while maintaining the aid.

Where will the supply of raw material for pellet production come from?

The supply for each of the plants will come from public and private forests located within a radius of no more than 150 km from the plants. This means that, among the three, plus those of electric biomass, a good part of the forest areas of the region and some of the neighboring provinces, such as Salamanca, Ciudad Real and Toledo, are reached. In principle, there is sufficient raw material available to supply the six plants, thermal and electrical biomass, which, moreover, do not compete with each other, but rather complement each other. The pellets need roundwood and the electrical biomass the remains of vegetation from trees, shrubs and scrub. The mechanism of sustainable energy use is made to respond to a primary need: to avoid large fires that occur due to the accumulation of fuel, which will now be used as energy.

When these three plants are fully operational, would a greater consumption of pellets by the business and public sector be important?

The promoters had the initial idea of ​​producing for export. And, for this, they planned to build a plant that they located in Moraleja, from which they would export the bulk of their production through the port of Figueira da Foz. Later, when speaking with Avante, who signed the Protocol signed in his day with us, other options are being considered, such as the Dry Port of the Logistics Platform in Badajoz, which could be reached by rail from a terminal located in Plasencia. That would greatly shorten the distance by road and, without a doubt, it is a more than interesting option. But after speaking with the president of the Board, they decided to partner with other developers to triple the investment and face the construction of three plants, in order to respond to the future demand of the region itself in terms of thermal energy.

The Junta de Extremadura, which is the main consumer of energy in the region, has committed to changing its heating, cooling and sanitary hot water systems in five years, permanently abandoning fossil fuels and embracing its own energy, which produces the mount, forest biomass. This means that hospitals, health centers, nursing homes, public schools, secondary schools and offices will gradually change their boilers in the coming years and will strongly increase the demand for forest raw materials.

If we can get Provincial Councils, Universities and Town Councils to do the same, the demand for pellets will multiply. It would also be very positive for the regional administration to adopt incentives for companies and individuals to see attractive the gradual change of boilers for industrial and residential use.

Source: Yearbook 2020 Energy and environment Extremadura. www.energiaextremadura.com

Access the full interview at

https://energiaextremadura.com/2020/09/02/el-anuario-energia-y-medio-ambiente-extremadura-2020-ya-en-la-calle/