The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), through the Institute for Just Transition (ITJ), is submitting to public consultation and information the draft order that regulates and announces the tender for the Maciñeira 400 kV just transition substation, linked to the closure of the As Pontes coal-fired power plant. The text, which follows the prior public consultation opened in April, can be consulted here .
The competition will award 600 MW of grid access capacity to new renewable and storage projects that contribute to economic activity and employment with the least environmental impact, in order to contribute to the development of the As Pontes just transition zone, made up of 14 municipalities: As Pontes, As Somozas, A Capela, Cabanas, Cerdido, Ferrol, Mañón, Moeche, Monfero, Muras, Ortigueira, San Sadurniño, Vilalba and Xermade.
Socioeconomic benefits: determining criterion
The proposed guidelines give the greatest weight to the socio-economic benefits for the territory, to which 64 of the 100 points of the competition are allocated: the promotion of local employment, especially for surplus workers from the power plant and women; the training and retraining of residents in the area; the development of self-consumption, and investments in the value chain of the provinces of A Coruña and Lugo, as well as participatory financing.
In addition, priority will be given to projects that minimize their environmental impact and contribute to the circular economy and the improvement of biodiversity, that incorporate storage and technical capabilities that strengthen the network, and that show a higher degree of maturity.
Second just transition contest in Galicia
The As Pontes project will be Galicia's second just transition tender, following the Meirama 220 kV substation tender, awarded last May, which granted its 408 MW of capacity to Coventina Renovables for the construction of a pumped-storage hydroelectric plant. The project will require an investment of approximately €250 million, including commitments made by the winning bidder to promote business projects and biodiversity initiatives in the region.
The competition joins other support instruments already deployed since 2019 for just transition zones by MITECO, such as ITJ aid for business projects that generate employment, for small investment projects, for municipal and infrastructure projects, or the aid from the Institute for Diversification and Energy Saving with priority for just transition zones, intended for renewable hydrogen projects, innovative renewables and renewable industrial value chain, among others.
In total, MITECO has granted more than 221 million in aid to 62 projects in the just transition zones of Meirama and As Pontes.
Unlike the procedure launched last week
The Maciñeira 400 kV tender is separate from the single-competition procedure launched last week by the Ministry for Ecological Transition (MITECO) for a group of 15 just transition nodes, including the Puentes GR 400 kV node, to which the old thermal power plant was connected. This node currently lacks capacity, and MITECO is thus seeking to regulate capacity allocation in anticipation of future capacity needs.
In this way, the Maciñeira tender will unlock access to the electricity grid in the short term and, in parallel, mechanisms will be developed to unlock future projects connected to the old substation of the power plant, in case capacity emerges in the successive electricity planning processes.
Interested individuals and entities can submit their comments on the proposal for the Maciñeira interchange until October 22nd at the following email address: nudos@transicionjusta.gob.es , with the subject: “Order bases Maciñeira interchange”.