en.Wedoany.com Reported - Spain's Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco) has granted Coventina Renovables a 408 MW grid access capacity at the 220 kV grid of the Meirama Just Transition Node for the connection of a reversible hydropower plant. The project is expected to involve an investment of over €400 million, creating approximately 180 local jobs, along with commitments to training, photovoltaic self-consumption, and environmental improvements around Lake As Encrobas.
The bidding results have been communicated to the winning company and are expected to be published shortly in Spain's Official State Gazette. The tender, promoted by the Institute for Just Transition (ITJ) under the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, awarded grid access rights through a competitive process. Evaluation criteria prioritized the project's environmental impact and its economic contribution to the local community, favoring proposals with lower environmental impact and positive effects on the Meirama Just Transition area, including the municipalities of Carral, Cerceda, A Laracha, Ordes, and Tordoia, which were affected by the closure of the Meirama thermal power plant.
The winning bidder has committed to creating and maintaining 1,067.5 average annual full-time equivalent jobs for at least ten years, of which approximately 180 are directly related to the operation and maintenance of the reversible hydropower plant, corporate project development, and environmental protection and improvement around Lake As Encrobas. The project is expected to involve an investment of over €400 million for the development of the reversible hydropower plant, as well as activities for the protection, restoration, and promotion of biodiversity and ecosystems. Additionally, the company must launch vocational training programs for 450 local residents, totaling 67,500 training hours.
The project also includes the installation of 2 MW of photovoltaic self-consumption facilities for residential and municipal buildings. To ensure compliance with the socio-economic and environmental commitments associated with the award, Coventina Renovables has deposited a guarantee of €52.8 million. The reversible hydropower plant must obtain the corresponding environmental and administrative permits before construction. The project has been proposed as a beneficiary of €30 million under the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge's innovative reversible pumped storage initiative funding line, managed by the Institute for Diversification and Energy Saving (IDAE).
The approval of the Meirama node complements other tools deployed by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge since 2019 in the Galicia Just Transition areas, including aid from the Institute for Just Transition for job-creating business projects, small investment projects, municipal projects, and infrastructure. Furthermore, IDAE's tenders prioritized for just transition areas involve renewable hydrogen projects, renewable industrial value chains, and other actions. Overall, since 2019, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has allocated over €183 million to 59 projects in the Meirama and As Pontes Just Transition areas. Meanwhile, the tender process for the Maciñeira Just Transition node in As Pontes has also been initiated.
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