Spain has 375 biomass heat networks

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

According to the president of Avebiom, Javier Díaz, the main objective of this Congress is “to try to smooth out the official processing process for biomass heat networks, which is currently the main obstacle that the promoters of this encounter. type of facilities, generally due to a logical lack of initial information on the part of the municipal managers and technicians themselves, since in many cases there are no precedents in the City Councils.”

In fact, he added, "when a City Council passes the procedures for a first installation, it is very common for it to launch another project, because it no longer has the doubts that the first file generated and because the results of these installations are excellent, both “in terms of heat generation and from the point of view of economic savings.”

Nearly 300 public use networks

In Spain, 375 biomass heat networks currently operate, 340 more than in 2010, with an accumulated power of 312 thermal MW, according to data from the National Biomass Boiler Observatory. Of them, 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. Among them, for example, the new network of Guadalajara, that of Aranda de Duero (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 towns of 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants. In this segment, 190 public use networks operate in 155 municipalities, connecting an average of four buildings.

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

Towards 700 installations in 2020

The growth of 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 the 860 MW thermal.

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

The sector looks to Cuenca

The city of Cuenca will become the main point of attention of the sector on December 12 and 13, on the occasion of the celebration of the Congress sessions, 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 installation of the La Casa del Agua Sport sports center, located in the city of Cuenca, which uses thermal energy with biomass.

On the 13th, at the Museum of Paleontology of Castilla-La Mancha, different financing models for biomass facilities for public use will be presented and experiences will be shared on how to access financing with European funds from the EIB and aid from other organizations that promote rural development. The process of execution and operation of the facilities will also be addressed and recommendations for drafting service contracts will be put on the table. In addition, success stories of heat installations and networks carried out by leading companies in the sector will be presented.