The Palos de la Frontera Combined Cycle Power Plant in the province of Huelva has been operating for 20 years, guaranteeing the security of the electricity supply in Andalusia and boosting the region’s economic activity. Since it came into operation, the facility has produced a cumulative total of more than 50 TWh, which is equivalent to the consumption of more than 700,000 households each year for the past two decades. To commemorate this anniversary, today numerous authorities took part in a ceremony and visited the plant alongside several Naturgy executives.
The Palos de la Frontera combined cycle power plant came into commercial operation in December 2004, and more than 500 million euros were invested in its construction. This facility has an electricity production capacity of 1,200 MW. On average, it generates more than 200 direct and indirect jobs every year and receives an average annual investment of 8 million euros.
The event was attended by the mayoress of Palos de la Frontera, Milagros Romero; the Secretary General for Energy of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Manuel Larrasa; the delegate of the Regional Government of Andalusia in Huelva, José Manuel Correa; the director of the Andalusian Energy Agency, Natalia Márquez; the secretary general of the Huelva Federation of Business Owners, Daniel Caldentey; and the president of AIQBE, José Luis Menéndez López.
On behalf of Naturgy, the event was attended by the Director General of Networks, Pedro Larrea; the Director of Thermal Generation, Luis Zarauza; the Director of Combined Cycles, Manuel Doblado; the Director of Resources and People of Thermal Generation, Celestino Martínez; and the Head of Operations at the Palos Combined Cycle Power Plant, Simón Domínguez.
During his speech, Pedro Larrea pointed out the decisive role of combined cycle plants in guaranteeing electricity supply, driving the energy transition and ensuring the competitiveness of companies and the comfort of households. “Combined cycle plants offer a high level of flexibility and guarantee almost 100% operational availability, which gives them a crucial role in the energy transition, ensuring economic competitiveness and supply security”, he explained.
Combined cycles, essential for the electricity system
Combined cycle plants are power plants that convert natural gas into electricity by means of two consecutive generation processes. These infrastructures have high availability for the energy system compared to the intermittency of other power generation sources. Therefore, they play a key role in guaranteeing supply at times of low renewable production or when demand increases.
Naturgy has 11 power plants located throughout Spain with a combined capacity of 7.4 GW. Three of these facilities are in the province of Cadiz, Andalusia, and have a combined capacity of 2.4 GW: Palos, Malaga and San Roque.
The group invests around 100 million euros each year in its combined cycle plants, which enable it to maintain an availability rate of 98% and a high capacity to respond to the needs of the electricity system.
Commitment to Andalusia
Naturgy has a steadfast commitment to Andalusia, where the group operates through very different businesses. The company has just commissioned its third photovoltaic farm in the region, which joins the five wind farms already in operation to bring the company’s total installed renewables capacity in the region to 305 MW. In addition, Naturgy is working on the development and construction of a further ten photovoltaic and six wind power projects.
Nedgia, the group’s gas distributor, has been present in the region for more than 30 years with a distribution network of more than 6,000 kilometres, which allows it to supply more than 90 municipalities throughout the region’s eight provinces Currently, thanks to this distribution network, around 1.6 million Andalusians already enjoy the advantages and convenience of natural gas and will be able to benefit from the potential decarbonisation that the progressive penetration of renewable gases will bring. The company also generates around 4,000 direct and indirect jobs in the region.
In the marketing business, the company has a portfolio of half a million customers in both electricity and gas.