According to the company’s website press release on January 17, 2023, Extremadura has set itself the target of producing 20% of Spain’s green hydrogen by 2030, with the development of 3 gigawatts of electrolysis out of a total of 16, announced the President of the Regional Government of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara, on Tuesday.
In this way, the President said, Extremadura would become the main producer of this energy source, as is already the case with photovoltaic energy, whose target of 20% of production compared to the national total has already been “vastly” surpassed.
This goal, he added, would lead to some 10 billion euros of investment, 2,500 direct jobs, 20,000 jobs during construction and, in short, “taking another step forward” in what the process of ecological transition means for Extremadura and “this green revolution” in which our region appears as “one of the key players for Spain and for the EU”.
Mr Fernández Vara made these statements after signing a collaboration protocol together with the Chief Executive Officer of Enagás, Arturo Gonzalo Aizpiri, for the promotion and development in Extremadura of transmission and storage infrastructures for renewable hydrogen and its derivatives.
The head of Enagás referred to the fact that, first, the need to speed up the decarbonisation process and, second, the problems of security of energy supply caused by the war in Ukraine have meant that the targets for the deployment of renewable gas infrastructures and, specifically, green hydrogen, have had to be brought forward by almost a decade and have become an EU priority.
Furthermore, Mr Gonzalo Aizpiri pointed out that one of the two backbones of the national hydrogen network runs partly through Extremadura, a region which, he added, has “extraordinary conditions” to play a leading role in green hydrogen at European level.
If Spain has the conditions to become the “great hub” of green hydrogen in Europe, Extremadura has the conditions to be the “great hub of hydrogen” within our country, he stressed.
Based on figures given by the CEO, a total of 420 km of hydrogen pipelines, which practically “replicate” the current gas backbone network, run through Extremadura, with the main node in Almendralejo and the addition of a branch to Puertollano, as it is a busy industrial centre. He summed up by saying that 13.8% of the total national green hydrogen network would be in Extremadura.
The President of the Regional Government of Extremadura also announced that work is underway with Enagás and the EOI (School of Industrial Organisation) to develop a training programme in renewable gases during the course of this year, which would be taught in Extremadura, so that professionals can be available when required.
Mr Fernández Vara pointed out that the State’s electricity planning has been “very good for our territory”, which explains why many industries have opted to locate in Extremadura, and he feels sure that the same will happen with “the new adventure” that hydrogen represents, something that could place the region in a competitive scenario that nobody could have imagined “five years ago”.
The head of Enagás, on the other hand, highlighted the importance of the decree law approved a week ago by the Governing Board of the Regional Government of Extremadura declaring the production of green hydrogen in the region to be of general interest.
In this regard, he expressed his conviction that this example will be followed by other territories and stressed the fact that Extremadura was the first autonomous community with which the company has been able to sign a framework agreement of this nature.
If Spain can reach public-private partnership formulas such as the one presented today, our country can aspire to become the “main producer of green hydrogen in Europe”, he concluded.
