The Basque Government secures a commitment to increase the capacity of Euskadi’s electricity grid to 6,000 MW, 50% above its current level

• To achieve this additional 50% capacity, work will be carried out at almost all existing substations, with more than 20 interventions, and 10 new substations will be built.
• The Basque Government has secured increased investment under the Planificación de Transporte Horizonte 2030, resulting in an additional 6,000 MW on our electricity grids: 2,300 MW from the transmission grid for distribution support points and large industrial consumers, 750 MW for our own renewable electricity generation, and a further 3,000 MW made possible on the distribution grid for the decarbonisation and growth of our existing industry.
• This increase in investment has been made possible by the approval, on 28 July, of the Royal Decree regulating investment plans for electricity transmission and distribution grids in Spain. This Royal Decree responds to the Basque Government’s proposal to the Ministry to increase investment in electricity transmission and distribution grids in Euskadi.
• This proposed investment in transmission grids, together with the approval of distribution grid plans in Euskadi, provides a suitable framework for the current and future connection needs of Basque industry.
• The new regulatory framework establishes open and flexible planning that can adapt to new electricity needs and anticipate industrial growth.
• Basque Government Minister for Industry Mikel Jauregi: “We are very pleased with this achievement, which is the result of many months of work, negotiation and defence of Euskadi’s interests.”

The Basque Government has secured a commitment to increase investment in the electricity transmission grid in order to raise the capacity of Euskadi’s electricity grid to 6,000 megawatts by 2030. This significant 50% increase will make it possible to guarantee the supply needed to meet the energy needs of Basque industry in the coming years through unprecedented investment in electricity infrastructure, which is expected to materialise within five years.  

The Basque Government Minister for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, Mikel Jauregi, announced the agreement during a visit this morning to the Gatika substation with Joan Groizard, Secretary of State for Energy at the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.

Jauregi explained the importance of the expansion for Euskadi’s industrial and energy development and for facilitating the connection of new industrial projects. “Today we are taking a giant step towards solving one of the biggest problems facing our industry: the lack of plugs. Last year, we announced a draft agreement that increased our electricity capacity by 40%. Today we are announcing that the final version of the investment plan raises that increase to 50%. Over the next five years, we will have 50% more plugs in Euskadi.”

The Minister emphasised that “to achieve this additional 50% capacity, work will be carried out at almost all existing substations, with more than 20 interventions, and 10 new substations will be built. This 50% expansion will result in an additional 6,000 megawatts over the next five years, meet the decarbonisation and growth needs of our existing industry and enable us to attract strategic investment to our country.” 

“We are very pleased with this achievement, which is the result of many months of work, negotiation and defence of Euskadi’s interests,” concluded Basque Government Minister Mikel Jauregi.

The commitment will be incorporated into the Planificación de la Red de Transporte Horizonte 2030. The Basque Government has secured an increase in the capacity planned for Euskadi to 6,000 MW after the representations it submitted in response to the proposal published by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge were taken into account.

To achieve this additional 50% capacity, work will be carried out at almost all existing substations, with more than 20 interventions, and 10 new substations will be built.

Specifically, a new substation south of Vitoria-Gasteiz will make it possible to respond to the growth and modernisation of its industrial area. In Aiaraldea, improvements to the Ayala substation will contribute to the area’s industrial recovery. In Bizkaia, the capacity of the Gatika substation will be expanded to support the development of the Zamudio Technology Park and eastern Bizkaia. Reinforcing the connection between Santurtzi and Ortuella will also facilitate the launch of new projects in the area. In Gipuzkoa, the new Urola substation will guarantee the security of supply and support industrial activity on the coast; expansions at Ormaiztegi and Arkale will support, respectively, the industrial recovery of Goierri and the development of the Pasaia area.

The Basque Government has secured increased investment under the Planificación de Transporte Horizonte 2030, resulting in an additional 6,000 MW on our electricity grids: 2,300 MW from the transmission grid for distribution support points and large industrial consumers, 750 MW for our own renewable electricity generation, and a further 3,000 MW made possible on the distribution grid for the decarbonisation and growth of our existing industry.

This planning provides a stable framework for attracting new strategic investment and anticipating the connection needs of existing industry and new projects. At the same time, the planned review mechanisms will allow it to be updated and adapted as electricity demand evolves, so that grid capacity can keep pace with future industrial investment more quickly.

In this regard, the Minister emphasised that this outcome reflects a Basque Government priority: ensuring that the electricity grid develops at the same pace as industry’s needs for growth, modernisation and decarbonisation. 

A new framework to promote investment

This increase in investment has been made possible by the approval, on 28 July, of the Royal Decree regulating investment plans for electricity transmission and distribution grids in Spain, increasing the planned volume of investment in electricity grids.

The new regulation responds to the Basque Government’s proposal to the Ministry to increase investment in electricity transmission and distribution grids in Euskadi.

The new framework allows the volume of investment in electricity grids to increase and supports planning with greater capacity to adapt as industrial demand evolves. The interventions will therefore address current needs while also preparing the grid to accommodate new connections and accelerate strategic investments as they take shape.

The transmission grid consists of the major extra-high-voltage infrastructure that enables large amounts of energy to be exchanged between different territories, connecting generation and consumption. The distribution grid then allows that energy to reach industries, homes and public services. Coordinated reinforcement of both grids is essential to guarantee supply and facilitate new connections.

Substations are facilities that transform and distribute electricity so that it can reach the industrial facilities where there is demand at the appropriate voltage. 

Meeting the needs of Basque industry, now and in the future

The proposed investment in the transmission grid, together with the approval of the corresponding distribution grid plans, provides a suitable framework for meeting the current and future connection needs of Basque industry.

The commitment will meet the connection needs identified by 117 energy-intensive companies, thereby guaranteeing the continuity of more than 70,000 jobs in Euskadi, and represents the main milestone in energy matters for Euskadi’s industry. Its scope will provide a long-term supply outlook for industrial projects that need more electricity capacity to decarbonise, grow, expand, modernise their facilities or make progress in electrifying their production processes. It will also enable us to attract new foreign investment and new industry. 

The availability of electricity capacity has become a strategic factor for competitiveness. Growth in industrial activity, the electrification of production processes and the gradual replacement of fossil fuels require stronger grids prepared to meet rising demand.

The Basque Government will continue working with the Ministry and the organisations responsible for the grids so that the planning receives final approval before the end of the year. The aim is for the planned investments to begin as soon as possible and for the new infrastructure to become available as Euskadi’s electricity needs increase.

Transformative Projects of the Industry Plan

The Industry Plan – Euskadi 2030 set out 23 publicly and privately led Transformative Projects. Two new privately led Transformative Projects have since been added: “Zero Emissions Marine Boat” and “Hidrogeles inteligentes para Nanomedicina”. 

The Industry Plan is a dynamic plan under which the Transformative Projects are developed, so further projects are expected to be added as industrial needs evolve.

In total, 16 of the current 25 Transformative Projects have now been launched: 10 led by the public sector and six by the private sector.

The publicly led projects are: ESG Euskadi (BasquESG); Euskadi: Climate Change adaptation living lab; Euskadi SpaceLab (ESA BIC); Desarrollo Energías Renovables; Mejora de los procesos administrativos (Autopista Regulatoria); Reserva estratégica de suelo industrial e infraestructuras; Fondo Scale Up; Euskorpus; Basque Zirkular Metals; and now the project “Planificación de las redes eléctricas vascas”, which today has taken a decisive step towards implementation.

The six privately led projects are: “Nuevas Arquitecturas de Motor Aeronáutico para la Aviación Sostenible y Competitiva en Euskadi”; “ROBOOST”; “Hidrogeles Inteligentes para la Nanomedicina Personalizada”; “Hub de Combustibles Renovables”; “Grid4Industry”; and “Zero Emissions Marine Boat”.

These six Transformative Projects represent an initial investment of more than €679 million, of which €368 million is allocated to R&D and technological development. Together, the six projects will create more than 3,800 quality jobs in the coming years. They will also generate activity for another 159 companies — most of them SMEs — in the Basque industrial sector, with the collaboration of the country’s Technology Centres.

| Photograph | Pexles | Couleur |