A quota of 380 MW is established, with minimum reserves for solar thermoelectric of 220 MW, for biomass of 140 MW and for other technologies of 20 MW; photovoltaics will have another quota of 140 MW for installations of 5 MW or less. Solar thermal projects must have six hours of storage and can be hybrid.
The Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has convened the third auction for the granting of the Renewable Energy Economic Regime (REER), which was scheduled last April. On this occasion, 520 MW are auctioned divided into two quotas: one of 140 MW for distributed photovoltaics – for installations of less than 5 MW on a local basis; and another, 380 MW for other sources, with reserves of 220 MW for solar thermoelectric, 140 MW for biomass and 20 MW for other technologies.
The tender procedure will take place on October 25, 2022. If the reserves for solar thermoelectric power plants, biomass and other technologies are not fully allocated, the excess power will go to a neutral quota where the technologies are allocated. will face indiscriminately. The quota dedicated to photovoltaics will not participate in this transfer mechanism.
The auction resolution proposal was submitted for public participation between December 30 and January 21, and several changes were introduced, including the relaxation of the criteria for small-scale photovoltaic installations of a local nature. to increase social participation.
Thus, the distance to be considered as a local participant is extended from 30 km to a radius of 60 km, the number of local partners is reduced from more than 4 to more than 3, and the period of time in which it must be maintained participation of citizens to the facility for five years, whereas before that was its entire useful life. In addition, those who have a second home in the region can be considered local partners.
The specific support for small distributed generation systems responds to the fact that they offer greater efficiency, since they require less network infrastructure and reduce energy losses in them. The need to democratize the electricity system has also been taken into account, seeking the participation of citizens, as well as other agents, such as SMEs and local entities, in the deployment of renewable technologies.
On the other hand, solar thermal power plant projects that participate in the auction must have six hours of storage and can be hybridized with biomass, biogas, bioliquids and photovoltaics, provided that the photovoltaic power does not exceed 10 % of thermoelectric power.
In REER auctions, developers bid for the price they are willing to charge for the energy produced by their plants, with some exposure to the market price. On this occasion, solar thermal, biomass, biogas or bioliquid installations will receive the REER for 20 years and will have a market exposure of 15%, due to their controllable status; photovoltaics and other renewables will receive the REER for 12 years and will have a lower exposure to the market, 5%.
As in the two previous auctions, the winning companies will be required to present a strategic plan with estimates of the impact on local employment and the industrial value chain, which will be published on the MITECO website. In addition, this appeal introduces the possibility of preventing access to future TCER auctions to winning installations, to dissuade them from forgoing the regime granted in this auction to move to another subsequent auction.
Photovoltaic installations will have two years to build from award, while more complex solar thermoelectric and biomass installations will have four and a half. For the rest of the technologies, the period will be four years.
In the two previous TCER auctions, organized in January there in October 2021, MITECO awarded a total of 2,902 MW of photovoltaic technology and 3,256 MW of wind technology. In October, moreover, photovoltaics did not cover the capacity offered for the first time in history: Only 5.75 MW of the 300 MW reserve for small producers has been allocated; and from the 600 MW reserve for facilities at an advanced stage of treatment, 21.9 MW have been distributed.
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