Despite his youth, Joan Groizard (Palma, 1989) is currently celebrating four years at the helm of the Institute for Energy Savings and Diversification (IDAE), where he arrived just before the pandemic turned the world upside down and – ultimately – catastrophe would cause acceleration of the transition to renewable energy. An energy and environmental engineer at the University of Cambridge, he visits EL PAÍS during the latest edition of Genera, the major green energy meeting in Spain.
Questions. After a slight recovery in the final phase of last year, demand for electricity is falling again.
Answer. The final picture we have is an opaque mix of several factors that work in opposite directions and end up contaminating each other: economic activity and electrification. [que aumentan la demanda]; and energy efficiency and self-consumption that burden it. We were used to correcting working conditions and temperatures, but now we need to monitor more closely.
Q Industrial consumption continues without increasing.
R. Beyond the current data, the structural trend is positive: we see interest in connecting to the Spanish grid, as electricity will be more affordable here. There are reasons for optimism. Both electrification and storage are the two keys of this legislative period.
Q Network connection request data is scarce. Do we need more transparency?
R. Yes. Greater transparency would lead to better decision-making by all stakeholders. Just like generation, capacity at each node must be public. It's no longer enough for the first to arrive to get permission to connect and keep it forever: you have to reach certain milestones. It is an indication that requests for [conexión para] Consumption.
Q So there is a risk of speculation.
R. What we saw in the generation a few years ago is that there were projects aimed at developing and operating parks and other requests motivated by speculative reasons that said, “I'll get it the approval and then I do.” See what I do with it. The increase in demand requests could indicate a specific item like this. It makes sense: Spain is an attractive country for connectivity because electricity is becoming cheaper thanks to renewable energy and when something is attractive there are agents looking for short-term opportunities. We want to give access to the person who presents a better project, not the first person who asks.
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Q Why are electric cars coming onto the market more slowly in Spain?
R. It is something multifactorial. In Norway, on a large scale, the taxation of fossil cars is so high that they are much more expensive than an electric car. What would be the reaction if the government here proposed increasing taxes on fossil fuel cars? It's a debate that would be interesting, at least philosophically. Petrol and diesel are significantly more expensive in Portugal than in Spain. Do we want to make combustion vehicles or gasoline engines more expensive to speed up this signal?
In December we already reached 15% of electric vehicle registrations, surpassing diesel vehicles. If they had told us four years ago, we would have said, “Hahaha, how outrageous.” Well, here we are now. Electromobility is already a reality in Spain, both logistically and economically: with the fuel savings and the subsidies and deductions, it pays off. The big challenge is to make decisions that are not based on purely rational criteria: In our daily lives, we make decisions neither as companies nor as research centers.
Q He therefore believes that the decision to buy a combustion car is not rational.
R. It's not entirely rational. In many cases, the most rational option would be to buy an electric vehicle. For those who have a car just in case or for one trip a year, maybe not. However, in many cases, which are the most common in Spain, the most sensible thing would be to buy an electric vehicle.
Q Do you support the Norwegian way of taxing combustion cars?
R. For the Norwegian context of income and distance it works. Would it work in Spain? We need to create our own model and not import it automatically. Unfortunately, one of the big taboos in Spain is taxation: we have to be more environmentally friendly and make sure that anyone who pollutes the environment has to pay for it. That it sends the right signals, that it is socially progressive and that it does not shift the transition onto the shoulders of those who cannot and should not endure it.
Q Aerothermal energy or renewable gas while maintaining the current boilers?
R. Fossil boilers can reach almost 100% efficiency, while heat pumps can reach 200% or 300% efficiency: there is no comparison. Renewable gases make a lot of sense in applications that are difficult to decarbonize, but it makes no sense to replace fossil gas with biogas at all consumption levels. A decarbonized world is a world in which all uses that can be efficiently electrified are electric.
Q The big problem with heat pumps is their high purchase costs.
R. Yes. But if you look at the entire useful life, it pays off in many cases. There is a lot of scope for private financing because they are improvements that pay for themselves: just as a financial institution sells us and wonderfully finances a trip, it can certainly also finance us a heat pump that it knows we can return because we will save the bill.
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Q Why is biomethane not on the rise in Spain? France or Denmark are several lengths further.
R. There is huge potential, but we need to think about how it will be paid for. It is a debate that needs to be held in this legislative period: Just as there are biofuel obligations for gasoline and diesel, should there be contribution obligations for renewable gas or a premium for biomethane? I think it makes sense, but someone has to pay for it, so it would increase the gas bill.
Q It is a debate that no longer exists today.
R. I would like it if we could take it easy without mentioning Latin American countries or defunct Soviet republics. We would progress much faster, both in energy and in many other areas.
Q Home consumption grew strongly in 2021 and 2022, but slowed last year.
R. 2022 was extraordinary: economic recovery after the pandemic, skyrocketing electricity prices, aid… It is not a standard year that one could wish for. What we want is sustainable and sustainable growth, not sawtooths.
Q So aren't you worried about the slowdown?
R. I think it's a sign of maturity: it can't grow double digits every year. What would worry me is if we treated a peak load like a normal one. There are literally millions of roofs still to be covered and we need to have a vision for the future.
Q There are long delays in granting aid.
R. Managing these funds has been a challenge for us and the autonomous communities. The vast majority of applications are funded, but the window has already closed. For the funds that may remain, we will look for niches in which we expect them to contribute the greatest value, for example in collective self-consumption.
Q Do you understand the anger of those who have been waiting for up to two years?
R. I understand the frustration with longer than expected procedures. The administrations have introduced a very secure procedure that protects us from irresponsible use of public funds. And that means that a lot of paperwork is required to grant a single euro of aid.
Q Execution rates vary greatly between some communities and others.
R. It's not time to fight, it's time to work together. We have published the processing status of the communities, so that each of us is responsible for the part that corresponds to him in our small plot: there are those that are at 60%, 70% or 80%… And others that they are at 5 %, 10% or 15%. The downside of some municipalities' downward tax competition is that projects are not being delivered as quickly as we would like. If we want agile administration, we need resources. And that, like all life, is paid for with fair and appropriate taxation. Everything goes in the pack.
Groizard, before the interview. JUAN BARBOSA
Q In some areas of the industry there are certain doubts about the future of hydrogen. The IEA fears that in 2030 only 7% of announced projects will become reality.
R. We are experiencing an accelerated transition: in 2020, in the first PNIEC, hydrogen appeared very tentatively; With just a portion of what is on the table, we now have 11 gigawatts, seven more than in the hydrogen roadmap. As with anything that grows quickly, there will be more solvent, more mature projects and others that have joined the wave.
Q The next revolution is that of batteries.
R. Yes. We have all the elements: there are promoters; Inverters: a necessity on the part of renewable energy developers who need to integrate a lot of energy into the network; and industrial consumers who want renewable energy exactly when they need it. After renewables, the next big avalanche will be storage.
Q There are voices that criticize the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) as “unrealistic”. What would I tell them?
R. There are those who told us that the first PNIEC was not realistic either… And many of these agents in their claims for updating [del plan], they asked us to be more ambitious because some variables were not enough. It is technically and economically feasible.
Q In recent weeks, the recycling of solar modules and wind turbines has come into public debate. Is the problem being exaggerated?
R. There is a double standard between the environmental group and renewable energy, with demands that sometimes even reach the level of parody. Any energy development requires a physical location and materials. The fantastic thing about green energies is that their raw material is also renewable by definition: you don't set fire to the silicon, steel or fiberglass units like you do with oil and gas. . These are completely recyclable materials. All renewable energy is recyclable.
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