The Spanish ministry for the ecological transition on Thursday formally launched a call for proposals for wind and hydro repowering and blade recycling projects with the intention of awarding a total of EUR 222.5 million (USD 236.3m) of state aid through a competitive process.
The money will be channelled through three so-called Circular Repowering programmes, one for each group of projects.
The Programme 1 has a budget of EUR 150 million to finance the replacement of turbines at existing wind farms with more efficient machines. The estimate is that at least 557 MW of wind farms could be repowered through this programme, the ministry said.
The EUR-42.5-million Programme 2 is aimed at technological and environmental modernisation of hydroelectric stations of up to 10 MW. The goal of the programme is to renovate some 47 MW of hydro power stations.
Proposals for both wind farm and hydro refurbishment can include hybridisation with energy storage systems, according to the announcement.
Finally, the Programme 3 will mobilise EUR 30 million for the construction and operation of innovative facilities that can recycle wind turbine blades. These facilities must be able to recover at least 50% of the weight of the waste, which can be blades and/or other turbine components made from composite materials.
All projects have to be finalised before January 15, 2026.
Spanish government agency IDAE, in charge of promoting energy saving and diversification, will manage the competition. Interested parties can send their applications from January 17, 2023, until noon on March 10.
Promoters that have started executing their projects before soliciting the aid from these programmes will be not be able to participate.
The aid will be awarded as a non-repayable grant. Spain will pay for the programmes with its Covid recovery money sourced from the Next Generation EU funding tool.
According to the ministry for the ecological transition, Spain will have to dismantle about 10 GW to 12 GW of existing wind farms for repowering. By 2030, around 1,600 MW of mini-hydro power stations will have been in operation for more than 25 years, which puts Spain at a risk of losing hydro power capacity due to switching off older installations, the ministry added.
(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.062)
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The Hinojal wind farm. Source: Fersa Energias Renovables SA.
