How much renewable energy will each region have to contribute?
The territorial plan defined by the Generalitat establishes the photovoltaic and wind power necessary to go from the current 5,000 MW to 62,000 in 2050
BarcelonaDistributing renewable energy generation across the territory to meet the goal of zero emissions by 2050 is the objective of the Territorial Plan for the Implementation of Renewable Energies (PLATER). This plan details how much photovoltaic energy each municipality must contribute and how much wind power each region must generate. The plan has just received preliminary approval, and a three-month public comment period will soon open so that town councils, regional councils, and any other interested parties can submit their input. The aim is for final approval early next year.
The objective is clear: Catalonia, with a significant delay in the implementation of renewable energy Compared to other regions of the country, it aims to completely eliminate fossil fuels and nuclear energy by 2050 and have sufficient renewable generation capacity to be energy self-sufficient. Faced with growing opposition to the implementation of renewables in the region, the plan seeks to define the areas where installations should be located, set targets at the municipal and regional levels, and reserve corridors for feeding production into the electrical grid.
The starting point is the 5,018 MW of renewable power currently installed. It also takes into account the objectives of the energy forecasting of Catalonia (Proencat), which predicts that total final energy consumption in 2050 must be reduced by 30% compared to 2017, but multiplying by 2.3 the demand for electricity and reaching 61,861 MW of installed renewables.
The Plater Plan does not include offshore wind, which falls under the jurisdiction of the State, but it does establish photovoltaic installations that must be carried out on a municipality-by-municipality basis, and wind power installations on a region-by-region basis. Furthermore, within the photovoltaic category, it specifies the types of installations that must be rooftops, those that must be located on artificial land (such as reservoirs, wastewater treatment plants, road verges, and other structures), and those that must be located on non-artificial land.
Once the calculations are made, the Plater Plan establishes that the non-urbanized land that renewables must occupy in Catalonia to meet the target is 1.2% of the total surface area, 1% (314 km²) of the total surface area.2) for photovoltaics and 0.2% (69 km2) for wind power.
Based on these calculations and taking into account the available resources – only for photovoltaics and wind for wind power – as well as other parameters such as protected landscapes or areas that, for other reasons, do not allow installation, the map has been created, starting from the premise that 14,000 MW can be obtained in 14,000 MW, and 48,000 MW will have to be located in the territory.
To find out how much renewable energy is allocated to each municipality and region, the Department of Territory and the Cartographic Institute of Catalonia will launch a viewer that will allow all interested parties to prepare their objections to the plan. According to the preliminary plan, the regions that will have to contribute the most photovoltaic capacity are Noguera (2,042.5 MW), Solsonès (1,753.2 MW), Bages (1,684 MW), Anoia (1,658 MW), Alt (1,658 MW), and Alt (1,415.9 MW). The regions that will have to contribute the least photovoltaic capacity are Alta Ribagorça (29 MW), Vall d'Aran (32.4 MW), and Pallars Sobirà (65.1 MW).
Regarding wind power, the regions with the highest installed capacity are Segrià (2,373.2 MW), Garrigues (2,213.7 MW), Terra Alta (1,792.6 MW), and Anoia (1,681.5 MW). Conversely, the regions with the lowest installed capacity are Lluçanès (0.1 MW), Barcelonès (0.5 MW), Vall d'Aran (0.8 MW), and Cerdanya (1.5 MW).
Plan tracking
The Minister of Territory, Silvia Paneque, reiterated that this plan is an instrument that sets detailed objectives for municipalities and districts up to the year 2050, and added that the Government "will ensure that this implementation is achieved progressively." Along these lines, the Government plans to monitor the progress of onshore wind and solar photovoltaic deployment by municipality and district in both 2030 and 2040. Paneque acknowledged Catalonia's historical deficit in renewables, especially solar photovoltaics, and the impact on Catalonia of not deploying these types of renewables. "This path requires simplifying the procedures, that much is clear," added the Minister, who emphasized that this plan, the PLATER, is a territorial planning tool that identifies the optimal areas for wind and solar photovoltaic deployment.