The Minister of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda, Álvaro Nadal, has announced that the Popular Parliamentary Group in the Congress will present a bill for the closure of power generation plants in the coming days.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Energy, the initiative to be presented in Parliament by the popular party will incorporate the most relevant observations of the CNMC report of 24 of January on the Real Decree draft proposed by MINETAD.
This proposal seeks to pass the rule into law, as proposed by the National Commission of the Market and Competition. In this way, according to Energy Minister Alvaro Nadal, the parliamentary groups will have to decide whether they want the closure of any type of power plant (thermal, nuclear, combined cycles, etc.) to represent only a business decision or that this be compatible with the objectives of the energy policy that are agreed upon.
The parliamentary groups will have to decide whether they want the closure of any type of power plant (thermal, nuclear, combined cycles, etc.) to represent only a business decision or that this be compatible with the objectives of the energy policy that are agreed upon.
Nadal has stressed that the closure of the plants has to be ordered and must guarantee competition. To this purpose, the proposal will pose to extend the cases for which a request for closure can be denied. Currently, the Electricity Sector Law only looks at security of supply but now two additional assumptions will be proposed to that standard: the impact on market prices or competition and the fulfillment of the greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Coal mining regions
On the other hand, today in Zaragoza, the minister Álvaro Nadal and the president of the Government of Aragón, Javier Lambán have signed a framework collaboration agreement for the economic boost of the coal mining regions. Both administrations will collaborate to boost alternative employment in the coal mining regions, through infrastructure and restoration projects of degraded areas in the municipalities impacted by the closure of coal mining operations in Aragon.
Today in Zaragoza, the minister Álvaro Nadal and the president of the Government of Aragón, Javier Lambán have signed a framework collaboration agreement for the economic boost of the coal mining regions
In the area of infrastructures, actions that may be funded include those intended to improve industrial estates, the provision of telecommunication lines and energy diversification in public buildings. Aid may also be requested for projects that encourage the creation and equipping of business incubators and technology development centers.
As regards the environmental restoration projects included under the agreement, they will involve the improvement, restoration, recovery and revaluation of waste dumps, degraded areas and areas impacted by coal mining operations. Forest recovery projects and actions related to atmospheric sanitation aimed at improving air quality, sound levels and improvement of wastewater treatment plants are also illegible for benefits
The actions proposed by the Government of Aragon will be submitted to the Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda, through the Institute for the Restructuring of Coal Mining (IRMC for its acronym in Spanish) and their funding will require a specific agreement between the IRMC and the Government of Aragon for each action.
Following this agreement signing, a bilateral Cooperation Commission between Aragon and the Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda will be created to monitor and implement this agreement and any other related specific agreements, the statement claims. The validity of this agreement, signed today, will be extended until December 31, 2018. This framework agreement adds to all the initiatives launched by the Government in support of the mining regions.
