AVEBIOM proposes two projects to the Spanish Government to bring renewable heat with biomass to 900,000 people

The two initiatives presented by AVEBIOM in December 2020 to IDAE would mobilize 1 billion eur and fit perfectly with the objectives of the State's Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan , with which the Government of Spain will guide the execution of 72 billion eur eur funds until 2023.

The aim is to develop up to 100 new heating networks using local biomass, which would serve some 250,000 people in rural areas and, on the other hand, to promote the replacement of obsolete heating systems with state-of-the-art individual biomass equipment using certified biofuels in 255,000 homes.

These projects are highly feasible in rural areas , where there is a high percentage of single-family homes that still use polluting heating oil boilers, butane gas stoves and even coal in some areas, and where many outdated wood stoves and boilers, not compliant with the Ecodesign regulations, are still in operation.

Furthermore, in the target municipalities the potential of local biomass for energy uses is assured, either in the form of agricultural waste, biogas or residual forest biomass. 

According to Javier Díaz, president of AVEBIOM, “we have designed two ambitious projects, not only for the biomass sector, but for the country as a whole, as they clearly contribute to achieving a just transition and combating energy poverty, reducing emissions and increasing the share of renewable heat in final energy use . Two initiatives completely in line with the objectives set in the EU by the Green Deal and developed in our country by the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC).”

Install 100 new biomass heating networks to provide heat for 250,000 people.
These networks would heat an area of ​​10 million square meters using 150,000 tons of renewable biofuels annually. With a total capacity exceeding 1,400 MW, the project contributes more than 1.5% to the renewable heating target set by the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC).

According to the latest data collected by the Biomass Observatory, at the end of 2020, 433 biomass networks were operating in Spain, and 50 projects were in various stages of development. To implement the proposed increase in district heating networks, AVEBIOM estimates that a public investment of eur150 million is necessary, which would generate an additional eur225 million in private investment.

Replacing 255,000 obsolete units with state-of-the-art biomass systems.
This significant energy-efficient home renovation would have very positive effects; on the one hand, replacing polluting equipment with biomass systems that comply with the Ecodesign regulations would significantly reduce current emissions and, on the other hand, would provide more affordable access to heating for the entire population.

According to the Association's calculations, completing the equipment replacement would benefit more than 635,000 people, 11.4% of the population living in towns with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants .

These biomass boilers and stoves would require 265,000 tons of certified biofuels per year, an amount manageable by the capacity of domestic producers. 80% of domestic pellet production is already ENplus certified, and there is another specific certification scheme for typical Mediterranean biofuels—BIOmasud—which is increasingly recognized and adopted by companies in the sector.

Achieving this massive replacement of equipment would contribute 115 ktoe of renewable gross thermal energy, representing 3.2% of the increase in renewable energy for heating and cooling set as a target by the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC ). To achieve this, AVEBIOM proposes a public investment of eur , which would activate an additional eur from the private sector.