Spain's Endesa SA has presented a program of 11 renewable hydrogen projects to the country's Ecological Transition Ministry totaling 340 MW of electrolyzer capacity fed by 2 GW of renewable energy.
A number of the projects are located at or near coal-fired power stations that are being phased out, according to the Enel SpA subsidiary's plans Feb. 1. Total investment could reach more than €2 billion, Endesa said.
On the Spanish mainland, eight electrolyzers are projected with a combined capacity of 315 MW. The projects would create 620 construction jobs and another 320 during operation, a key factor the ministry will take into consideration when approving projects.
A total of three projects are planned for extra-peninsular territories — Canary Islands and Balearic Islands — for a total of 25 MW of electrolysis capacity.
The renewables additions would cover around half of the company's target of additions for 2021-2023, Rafael González, Endesa's director general of generation, said.
The most advanced of the projects is at As Pontes, where the company is shutting down a 1.4-GW coal-fired power plant that will be substituted by a 100-MW electrolyzer and six associated wind farms with a combined 611 MW, generating 1,600 jobs during an 18-month construction cycle.
The electrolyzer would take 24 months to complete, and would produce 10,000 tonnes/year of green hydrogen. One objective of the project is to demonstrate that such a large installation can be built within economic, technical and environmental limitations, the company said.
At present, Spain's hydrogen market amounts to around 500,000 tonnes/year, nearly all produced from fossil fuels. The country approved in October 2020 a hydrogen roadmap through to 2030 with an expected investment of €8.9 billion in the sector with targets to reach 4 GW of electrolyzers, a fleet of vehicles and two hydrogen train lines.
The ministry has called for developers to present plans to create a register of projects and has pledged to invest €1.5 billion in the sector through to 2023, with the funds coming from the European Recovery Fund.
Jostling for position
Access to funding and the opportunity to decarbonize has already seen two of Endesa's competitors propose hydrogen projects of their own.
The largest hydrogen consumer in Spain, Repsol SA, has outlined a plan for projects at all its domestic refineries, while renewable giant Iberdrola SA has already started construction of a 20-MW electrolysis unit which will be used to produce green ammonia from 2021.
Two other competitors from the gas sector also announced new plans Feb. 1, with Naturgy Energy Group SA and Enagás SA saying they are planning a project near the industrial sites of Asturias to produce green hydrogen from 350 MW of a mix of onshore and offshore wind to potentially also export to Europe on the gas network.
Initially the project would involve 105 MW of electrolysis capacity, expandable to 205 MW, the companies said.
For Endesa, the move to hydrogen will give it an opportunity as it looks to substitute its retired coal fleet. The company intends to close its two remaining coal plants in 2021 at the 1.4-GW As Pontes and 1.1-GW Litoral de Almeria following the closure last year of Compostilla and Teruel, two 1.1-GW plants.
Gianluca Baratti is a reporter with S&P Global Platts. S&P Global Market Intelligence and S&P Global Platts are owned by S&P Global Inc.
