Spain has 375 heat networks with biomass, the 78% connected to buildings for public use

Congress of Bioenergy 2018 in Cuenca

Avebiom estimates that in 2020 there will be around 700 heat networks operating or in the construction phase.

With the purpose of offering an adequate information to the technicians and people in charge of the public administrations, the Board of Communities of Castilla-La Mancha and the Spanish Association of Energy Valorization of the Biomass (Avebiom) have organized the National Congress of Bioenergy 2018, to be held in Cuenca on December 12 and 13, under the title: 'Installations and networks of heat with biomass for public use '.

According to the president of Avebiom, Javier Díaz, the main objective of this Congress is "to try to smooth the process of official processing of heat networks with biomass, which is currently the main obstacle with which the promoters of this type of facilities, generally due to a logical lack of initial information by the municipal managers and technicians themselves, since in many cases there are no precedents in the municipalities.

In fact, he added, "when a municipality overcomes the procedures of a first installation, it is very common to start up some more project, because it no longer has the doubts generated by the first file and because the results of these facilities are excellent, both in terms of heat generation as from the point of view of economic savings ".

Near 300 networks for public use

In Spain 375 currently operates biomass heat networks, 340 more than in 2010, with an accumulated power of thermal 312 MW, according to data from the National Observatory of Biomass Boilers. Of these, 292 (78%) are biomass heat networks that serve buildings for public use.

To the total figure we must add the 78 facilities that are in the construction phase, which will raise the accumulated power to 453 MW terms. Among them, for example, the new Guadalajara network, the Aranda de Duero network (Burgos) or the expansion of the Soria network, as well as the new public network of Ponferrada (León) or the expansion of the 'district heating and coling' of the Free Trade Zone of Barcelona.

The 375 heat networks currently in operation are located in a total of 314 municipalities throughout Spain, especially in populations of 1.000 to 10.000 inhabitants. In this segment 190 networks operate for public use in 155 municipalities, which connect an average of four buildings.

In addition, pioneering projects have also been launched in Spain, such as the logistics center projected in Sillera (Pontevedra), to supply the biomass demand in that locality; or the new heat networks in industrial estates, such as those that are planned to be built in Berga (Barcelona) or Villalonquéjar (Burgos).

Towards the 700 facilities in 2020

The growth of the heat networks in the last decade coincides with the estimates made by Avebiom in 2015, whose projection to the year 2020 predicts the existence of some 700 heat networks, operational or in the construction phase, with an accumulated power greater than 860 thermal MW.

CC.AA.

No. NETWORKS

CC.AA.

No. NETWORKS

ANDALUSIA

4

ESTREMADURA

6

ARAGON

14

GALICIA

22

ASTURIAS

7

MADRID

16

BALEARICS

4

MURCIA

2

CANARY ISLANDS

1

NAVARRE

13

CANTABRIA

3

RIOJA

2

CATALUÑA

166

COMMUNITY OF VALENCIA

9

CASTILLA LA MANCHA

10

BASQUE COUNTRY

34

CASTILLA Y LEÓN

62

 

 

By communities, Catalonia has 166 heat networks, followed by Castilla y León (62) and the Basque Country (34). In Castilla-La Mancha there are ten heat networks operatives, ranking at number eight in this ranking.

The sector looks at Cuenca

The city of Cuenca will become the days 12 and 13 of December in the main point of attention of the sector, on the occasion of the celebration of the sessions of the Congress, which will be inaugurated by the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development of the regional Government , Francisco Martínez.

On December 12, attendees will visit the wood pellet production plant located in Mohorte and the La Casa del Agua Sport sports center, located in the city of Cuenca, which uses thermal energy with biomass.

The 13 day, in the Museum of Paleontology of Castilla-La Mancha, will present different models of financing biomass facilities for public use and share experiences on how to access funding with European funds from the EIB and aid from other agencies that promote rural development. The process of execution and exploitation of the facilities will also be addressed and recommendations for the drafting of service contracts will be put on the table. In addition, success cases of facilities and heat networks will be presented by leading companies in the sector.