'Progressive replacement of thermal': Enel's Endesa mulls $3.5bn green H2 plan for Spain
Energy company aims to spend almost €3bn for hydrogen production projects linked to 2GW of renewables
Enel’s Endesa subsidiary has presented 23 projects in various stages of development to the Spanish government that would produce green hydrogen from about 2GW of renewable energy projects across Spain.
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The plan foresees the construction of eight electrolysers with a combined capacity of 315MW in various locations on peninsular Spain, and another three on the Balearic and Canary Islands that have a total of 25MW.
The company said the overall investment cost of the projects will be €2.9bn ($3.5bn).
“Endesa wants to show its clear commitment to green hydrogen as a key in the energy transition process and the decarbonisation of the economy,” said Rafael González, head of generation at Endesa.
“These are objectives that we have been working on for years and that have marked our strategy of progressive replacement of thermal generation with renewable generation.”
The 2GW in renewable energy production capacity earmarked for hydrogen production are close to half the 3.9GW Endesa plans to bring online between this year and 2023.
Endesa is Spain’s biggest power producer, with a generation fleet that includes fossil, nuclear, hydro and other renewable energy plants.
Spain according to its national hydrogen strategy plans to reach a green hydrogen production capacity of 4GW by 2030.
Among the largest of Endesa’s hydrogen projects is the As Pontes project near the city of A Coruna in Galicia, which is also the most advanced. It will feature a 100MW electrolyser linked to six wind farms that have a combined capacity of 611MW. The project alone will cost €738m and have a green hydrogen output of 10,000 tons per year.
All projects combined would produce 26,000 tons of green hydrogen per year.
Spain currently consumes around 500,000 tons of hydrogen as raw material, but almost all of that is being produced from fossil fuels, Endesa said.