Advancing the electrification of demand, increasing the penetration of renewable sources, expanding synthetic fuels and biofuels, developing green molecules such as biomethane and hydrogen, and promoting storage, both hydraulic and in batteries. This is where the future of the sector lies, as our Head of Energy Transition, Andrea Miguez da Rocha, pointed out today. At the conference ‘The energy dimension of industrial development in Galicia’, held this morning in Santiago de Compostela, she summed it up as follows: ‘We believe that tomorrow will require a mix of technologies, and that no single technology will be sufficient on its own’.
Together with spokespersons from RESONAC – Graphite Business Unit, the Economic Office of Galicia and the Association of Electric Power Companies (ael?c), Míguez da Rocha participated in a panel discussion moderated by the Deputy Director General of Energy and Resource Planning of the Regional Government of Galicia, Paula Oliete Trillo. At this forum, he explained how Reganosa began a process of internationalisation 10 years ago that has led it to operate key energy assets in Europe, Asia and Africa, and he outlined how the company is now immersed in diversification in the areas of efficiency, storage, renewable energy generation and green hydrogen.
‘We are developing a portfolio of projects in Galicia that seek to contribute to decarbonising the economy, boosting our energy sovereignty, strengthening security of supply and carrying out a truly fair and inclusive transition,’ she said. Several of these initiatives are concentrated around As Pontes de García Rodríguez (A Coruña), are at an advanced stage of technical and administrative maturity, have been declared strategic by the authorities, and focus on economic, social and environmental sustainability.
In order to address the major challenges facing the sector, Míguez da Rocha has advocated implementing a new infrastructure plan that combines electricity and gas, takes into account all sources of generation, and properly assesses where demand lies. ‘We are in a time of great uncertainty, with challenges such as the availability of infrastructure to consume and evacuate energy; developers do not know when it will be available,’ he noted.
Among other factors that also hinder project development, he cited the strict regulatory requirements set by Europe for the production of renewable hydrogen, the inadequate correspondence between the maturity of initiatives and the design of public aid to promote them, and the current disconnect between production and consumption in new markets. ‘And we cannot forget storage, where we do not know how the capacity market will be structured,’ he added.
