With this first delivery, ACCIONA Energía has officially begun to bring renewable energy to the grid. This renewable energy is thanks largely to its new Logrosán biomass plant in Cáceres, Spain. The contract has been awarded by the Spanish Ministry for Ecologic Transition and Demographic Challenge. This facility, a 50 megawatt (MW) facility, will be the responsibility of the selected contractor for design, construction, operation and maintenance. This program is just one small step of Spain’s larger campaign to invest in renewable energy and combat carbon emissions.
The Logrosán plant is expected to generate about 380 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity per year. This major development will save over 187,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. A 501c3 nonprofit, this reduction is as remarkable! That’s the equivalent of removing 60,000 standard vehicles from the roads or planting nearly 9,000 trees. These significant environmental benefits further highlight the value of biomass energy in addressing climate change.
Economic and Environmental Impact
The biomass plant will use approximately 275,000 metric tonnes (mt) of biomass per year, most of it coming from forestry residues. The facility is an important economic driver for the region. Nearly one-third of its revenue is returned to the local community through services provided, workforce development and local hiring efforts, and procurement. It is predicted to generate about 200 direct jobs focused on the collection of prunings, scrubland material and forestry residues.
Additionally, the project provides significant land management and wildfire prevention benefits across the increasingly valuable and fire-prone region. The Logrosán plant functions as an annual team of 200 full-time “forest firefighters” year-round. This enhances local ecological resilience and promotes economic development for the region.
Local Community Engagement
The key to the success of the Logrosán biomass project, in fact, is that it’s based on strong collaboration with local businesses. ACCIONA Energía expects to enlist over 900 subcontractors. They will feature SMEs from the agroforestry and transport sectors along the entire value chain. This increased year-round engagement positively impacts the local economy. More important, it inspires them to participate in renewable energy projects happening in their own backyard.
The plant was recently awarded at the third auction of Spain’s renewable energy economic regime. Through this program, dealers lock in a guaranteed price of electricity sales for 20 years. This predictability promotes necessary investments in renewable energy development and reinforces Spain’s environmental commitment and ecological integrity.
