National Energy Grid
|
 |
|
Full Size Map National Electricity Transmission Grid of Spain(31 kb) |
GRID SUMMARY
Spain has the fifth largest electricity market in Europe (behind Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy), and it is growing quickly. Electricity demand for 2001 was estimated to be 210.4 billion kilowatthours (bkwh), a 5% increase over 2000. It is estimated that Spain's electricity demand will increase 30% by 2010.
To meet Spain's increased demand for electricity, domestic utility companies have invested in generation capacity and distribution. Red Electrica de España (REE), for instance, invested heavily in the network in 2001, dedicating 78.4 million euros to expanding the electricity network. REE also announced plans in October 2001 to invest between 60.2 and 72.2 million euros to improve the electricity connection with France. Spain's three largest electricity groups - Endesa, Iberdrola, and Union Fenosa - have dedicated 34 billion euros of investments from August 2001 to 2005, with much of that in Latin America and other European countries, but nevertheless including 8 billion euros for new generating plants in Spain.
Endesa is in the process of building a natural-gas-fired, 400 MW, combined-cycle generating turbine (CCGT) plant in Huelva in addition to two other gas-fired 400-MW CCGTs the company already has under construction in Barcelona and Tarragona. Endesa recently completed the construction of a plant with 8,000 MW in Cadiz. Union Fenosa plans to add 5,000 MW of new capacity by 2005, mostly in Spain, of which 2,800 MW would be natural-gas-fired. Piemsa, an affiliate of Petronor, is planning to construct an 800-MW integrated gasification combined-cycle(IGCC) complex at a refinery near Bilbao that will make use of heavy refinery stocks. The plant will be one of the largest and most advanced of its kind in the world.