The first air conditioning network in Spain based on three renewable energies is now a reality

Gas Natural Fenosa, in a joint venture with Wattia, and the Olot City Council have inaugurated the project, a pioneer in Spain, which allows the supply of heat, cold and electricity to a district network of the municipality of Olot with energy from renewable sources and with an intelligent system automated control. The Olot Market Square will be the center of this system.

Heating and cooling network
The project is the first Multi-energy District Heating and Cooling in Catalonia and also makes Olot the first city in Spain with a renewable energy trigeneration system: the system combines geothermal, photovoltaic and biomass technology. Two factors make Olot the ideal location to develop this pioneering project: on the one hand, it is an area technologically involved in energy sustainability and, on the other, the municipality has a dense forest mass.

The initiative serves a municipal network that supplies energy to a total of 7 facilities: the old Sant Jaume Hospital (the Sant Jaume residence and commercial premises), the Municipal Market, the Montsacopa residence, the Regional Museum of La Garrotxa, the Caritat, the Casal de la Gent Gran of the municipality and Can Monsà. The hot and cold air conditioning network has an approximate length of 1,800 meters that allows the 40,000 m ² surface of the buildings to which they are connected to be air-conditioned.

The cold and heat network will save the municipality emissions equivalent to 750 tons of CO ₂ , that is, the CO ₂ absorbed by 290 hectares of forest. The initiative will also reduce the energy bill of the five buildings included in the initial project, during the next 15 years of operation of the facility.

Gas Natural Fenosa has invested more than 1.5 million eurto launch the project while its local partner, the Wattia company, is an expert in their automated management as well as in the integration of its different energy systems. The project is included in the Energy and Climate Change Plan of Catalonia 2012-2020.

During the event, the mayor of Olot, Josep Maria Corominas, the general director of Retail Energy Businesses of GAS NATURAL FENOSA, Daniel López Jordà, and the general director of Wattia, Francesc Comino, presented the project and explained its advantages for the municipality . The event, which was closed by the president of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont, was also attended by the CEO of Gas Natural Fenosa, Rafael Villaseca, along with other representatives of the Generalitat and the City Council.

“We are proud to be able to inaugurate a project of great value and projection for our city. This initiative has been possible thanks to a combination of efforts that has allowed us to launch a unique network at the state level,” explained the mayor of Olot.

For his part, the general director of Retail Business of the energy company pointed out “the importance for Gas Natural Fenosa of carrying out innovative projects that allow us to bet on energy efficiency and have the collaboration of public initiatives in their approach and development".

On the other hand, the general director of Wattia assured that “after having overcome the technological challenge of EspaiZero in Olot, the first 100% energy self-sufficient building in Spain, the desire was to expand the application of the know-how represented by this energy control technology. the leading network to power the buildings in the city center in the most efficient way possible.”