Renewable energies and self-consumption

On February 1st, the European Investment Bank (EIB) organized in Madrid, the information day of the ELENA subsidy mechanism, in which the Extremadura Energy Agency (AGENEX) has been invited to explain the experience carried out in Extremadura.

The ELENA programme finances technical assistance to generate investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy in buildings, as well as sustainable mobility. Specifically, the results of the Greener-Ext project, which has already been completed, and the RenoWabe project, which is currently underway, were presented.

The Greener-Ex Project

AGENEX was a beneficiary of this project that began in 2014 and ended in 2018. With it, investments amounting to €38 million were developed in Extremadura in 32 public lighting, 5 biomass boiler installations, 8 photovoltaic actions in buildings, 21 energy efficiency actions in buildings and 9 actions in sustainable mobility (acquisition of electric vehicles for municipal and local police uses) in various municipalities in the region. Among the projects carried out are the change of lighting to full LED in the city of Badajoz and a heat network with biomass fed with olive pits for several buildings in the municipality of Monterrubio de la Serena.

The RenoWabe Project

This project has been underway since the beginning of 2023 and the beneficiary is the Regional Government of Extremadura, although technical assistance is developed through AGENEX.

It aims to mobilise around €39 million in investments in photovoltaic installations in education and health buildings (SES and SEPAD) in the region, as well as energy efficiency actions, in a comprehensive way, in the Hospitals and Nursing Homes of Extremadura.

The actions are focused on these ministries as they were identified in the Energy Efficiency Strategy of the public buildings of the regional administration of Extremadura (E4PAREX) as the main consumers of energy, with more than 80%, within the Board.

Currently, some 350 buildings have been analysed that are likely to implement photovoltaic installations, in which savings of over 40% would be achieved. In addition, the possibility of exchanging energy between them is being studied, due to the complementarity of uses, through shared self-consumption facilities.

Another objective of the project is to identify financing tools for this type of installation, which is why the feasibility of PPA (Power Purchasing Agreement) models and models through energy service companies (ESCOs) is being studied.

It is important to note that 13 ELENA projects have been approved in Spain, 7 of them completed, including Greener-Ex, and 6 underway, including RenoWabe. This is the reason why AGENEX has been invited to present its experience in which both projects have been recognized as examples of good practice at national and European level.

During this event, the EIB provided information on the functioning of ELENA and how Member States can benefit at all levels (national, regional and local). In addition to explaining the keys to the application for funds, or the type of eligible investments, attendees have had the opportunity to hear the testimony in person of successful cases.

This event is part of a series of information events that the EIB is running in the 27 EU Member States.