Engie and Nasuvinsa will finish building the Txantrea heat plant powered by biomass

Engie , through its subsidiary Districalor Renovable of Pamplona, ​​and Nasuvinsa, will complete the construction of the Txantrea heat plant, in Pamplona, ​​in the second half of 2023 . This was announced by the vice president of the Government of Navarra, José María Aierdi , who has assured that the plant will be fully operational by then. The heat plant will be the transversal axis of the pioneering Efidistrict Txantrea project, whose objective is the comprehensive energy rehabilitation of this neighborhood of Pamplona / Iruña.

It is a reference infrastructure at a national and European level, mainly due to its innovative commitment to the use of local forest biomass , made up of wood chips, as the main source of energy to feed its boilers. Forest biomass is a green and renewable fuel that can count among its suppliers on the pilot biomass transformation center created in 2021 in Aoiz / Agoitz by the Navarra Territory and Sustainability Agency Lursarea, attached to Nasuvinsa.

The replacement of current community heating boilers with centralized hot water production using biomass will allow a reduction in CO2 emissions of around 7,000 tons per year, which is 80% less than currently.

The Txantrea plant will be built in two consecutive phases, with a total investment of 13.7 million euros . Of that sum, 6.8 million will be contributed by Nasuvinsa and financed 50% by this Public Company and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and the remaining 6.9 million by the concessionaire company Engie, responsible for the exploitation. of the plant for a period of 36 years, as reported by the vice president and head of Housing, José Mª Aierdi, during his visit to the works.

Sustainable bet, with forest biomass boilers
The facilities and equipment of the heat plant occupy a ground-floor building that is being built on a publicly owned plot located in the Iturrondo industrial estate, between the municipalities of Pamplona and Burlada, adjacent to the San Francisco Javier Center, of the Navarrese Health Service-Osasunbidea, and with the Parque del Mundo. Of the 9,043 m2 of the plot, 1,600 m2 are occupied by the heat plant.

This plot has been transferred to Nasuvinsa by the Heritage Service of the Government of Navarra for this purpose and has required a modification of the urban planning in force, a procedure that has been carried out within the framework of a collaboration agreement between this public company. and the town councils of Pamplona and Burlada, in whose municipal terms these facilities are located.

Once its two phases of development are completed, the facility will centrally produce hot water to cover the demand for heating and domestic hot water of more than half of the homes in the neighborhood , specifically 2,200 in the first phase of development, currently in execution, and another 2,300 in the second. In addition to supplying neighboring communities, the plant will also be able to meet the needs of other nearby public buildings, both of the Government of Navarra and the Pamplona City Council.

The project begins its journey with the aim of also extending the supply to the rest of the neighborhood and the adjacent municipality of Burlada, as well as to several public healthcare and service buildings located in the surroundings of the plant , such as the San Francisco Javier Center or educational centers. .

Description of the center
The plant will have a total production capacity of up to 39 MW and will have, in addition to the two forest biomass boilers as the main energy source, a secondary natural gas installation to cover consumption peaks and maintenance or emergency situations. . To minimize the power of this gas installation, and its consumption, a 1,800 m3 water tank has been planned, which will allow prioritization of heat generation with biomass during the night period and thus increase the use of this clean energy.

The plant forms a longitudinal block, almost parallel to the Northern Ring Road (PA 30), and has a biomass boiler room and two independent units, in addition to their corresponding feeding, ash collection and control systems. hoppers and electrofilters. It will also have workshops and office areas. The collection of wood chips to feed the boilers is carried out through a buried silo, with a capacity of 1,500 m3 .

The hot water will reach the homes through an underground supply network with closed circuits of pre-insulated steel pipes , through which the hot water will be pumped from the production center to the neighboring communities and will return to be heated and start a new cycle.

The network will have a total length of more than 4,500 meters, when the plant is in the full development phase.

A project of this size powered by forest biomass will promote the diversification of the energy supply in its scope of action and the reduction of current energy dependence on sources of fossil origin . Furthermore, the use of this renewable fuel enhances the value of forest resources close to the point of consumption.

2,300 homes rehabilitated in Txantrea
Efidistrict Txantrea gives its name to one of the pioneering energy rehabilitation and urban regeneration projects, an intervention at the neighborhood level that offers as a novelty the creation of a neighborhood office to directly inform residents interested in improve the energy efficiency of their homes and their level of comfort, and to offer them technical support and accompany them throughout the process of drafting, processing and executing the project, as well as in the search for financing avenues and in the management of public aid to energy rehabilitation.

This intervention is making it possible to improve the energy efficiency of nearly 2,300 homes through the thermal envelope of the facades, the renewal of networks and the improvement of the level of accessibility, among other actions. Of the total homes, 644 correspond to the first phase, completed in 2018; another 1,116 to the second (2018-2021), currently being executed; and 531 more to the third phase now in process.

European Projects
The Txantrea heat plant is selected among the actions financed by the Operational Program of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2014-2020 of Navarra for its important support for energy efficiency, intelligent energy management and use of renewable energy in public infrastructure, including public buildings, and in private homes.

Likewise, the European H2020 STARDUST project, of which Nasuvinsa is a partner entity, has provided technical and legal advice on notable aspects such as the feasibility plan or the public-private management model, pioneering at the state level.