Spain to hold 3.3 GW wind and solar auction on November 22th.
Spain’s Ministry of Ecological Transition announced Monday that the next auction of wind and solar projects with a total capacity of 3,300 megawatts will be held on November 22.
Project sponsors will compete for 1,800 MW of solar PV and 1,500 MW of wind power, including the possibility of expanding or mixing existing facilities.
Auctions will be conducted on a “pay as bid” pricing rule, and projects will be affected to some extent by market prices. The ministry said the winning bidders will not be allowed to participate in future mark-to-bid auctions to prevent them from abandoning the regulatory regime awarded in this round in order to seize the opportunity in the next tender.
The Spanish government’s new auction announcement comes just ten days after the Spanish government announced that it would hold tenders for 520 MW of concentrated solar power (CSP), distributed solar PV, biomass and biogas projects on October 25.
Alongside the news of the auction, the Ministry of Ecological Transition has simultaneously launched a series of new measures to improve energy efficiency and reduce waste in electricity and gas consumption, in response to the EU’s call for solidarity as the EU prepares for possible gas cuts in Russia .
These include requiring shop windows and unoccupied public buildings to turn off lights after 10 p.m., but also speeding up the permitting process for grid projects and creating rules for connecting facilities that generate renewable gas or hydrogen.
The Spanish government hopes these measures will quickly reduce electricity and fossil gas consumption and promote the electrification of the economy. It said behavioural changes could lead to a 5% drop in petrol and petrol demand in the short term.
In a move to support rapid electrification plans, the government has called for state aid for energy storage projects that are integrated with renewables. The Ministry of Ecological Transition is also launching a public consultation on a proposal to update Spain’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), which will incorporate new energy transition goals for the country and the EU.