The Government has announced today that the next renewable energy auction will be held within the first quarter of 2017. To this purpose, it has sent a proposal for regulations to the CNMC that will conduct a hearing process for its assessment by interested parties.
As planned, the government has announced through a press release launched this afternoon that an energy auction will be held the next quarter to further advance in its commitment to achieve 20% renewable energy by 2020.
According to the Government, this target of renewable energy consumption was at 17.3% of the total energy consumed as of 2014. Countries such as the Netherlands, 5.5%, United Kingdom, 7%, Germany, 13.8% or France, 14.3%, are below the Spanish mark.
In order to achieve this objective, 3,000 new megawatts of renewable energy are planned for installation before December 31, 2019. The installation of this power is expected be awarded through auctions, the mechanism already being successfully implemented in several Countries, and that it is aligned with the European Commission guidelines.
Methodology of the renewable energy auction
The first renewable energy auction carried out last January 14, was denounced by different associations for being excluding, permeable to speculation and unrealistic. Facing this new auction, most of the associations related to the energy sector proposed a system with annual periodicity, objective, transparent, simple and competitive.
In this sense, the Government announces that renewable auctions will be competitive, technologically neutral, where the different technologies can compete in equality. Thus, “it is guaranteed that those projects that are the most efficient and involve the lowest cost for the consumer will be incorporated.”
In the CNMC
The renewable energy auction regulation proposal (formed by a Royal Decree and a Ministerial Order) has been sent to the CNMC, which will conduct a hearing process for interested parties for their evaluation.
It is expected that the procedure will be consulted with the associations before being returned to the Government for its subsequent processing by means of a Resolution of the Secretary of State, establishing the auction detailed rules and the concrete date of the call.
