Spain, Europe’s next energy supplier?

Morocco and Spain are not friendly countries, but are economically dependent on each other. Even Algeria, which was just visited by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is not really one of the partner countries of this European country. But with Putin’s attack on Ukraine and the end of Nord Stream 2 everything looks different. For Spain, several things have changed in terms of the new geostrategic situation.

Its traditionally good economic contacts with Arab countries and the North African world, numerous solar and wind energy parks, as well as six liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, with one-seventh under construction have attracted new attention. . At the same time the links to be strengthened with Nigeria and other suppliers of raw materials.

Spain produces 21 percent of the energy it consumes from renewable sources and thus has no problems with energy supply. For the Spanish media this is the great chance that the country has to return to the next European agent in the field of energy.

Reactivation of MidCat

Spain, which as the pandemic has shown again, is highly dependent on tourism, wants to use the 140 billion euros provided by Brussels from the Next Generation Funds to make the Spanish economy as ecological as possible. This includes the production of hydrogen by ecological means. This is what the head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who has visited Madrid several times, wants. Among other things, it is interested in reactivating the MidCat (Midi Catalonia) gas pipeline project between Spain and France. 80 kilometers of the pipeline with a capacity of 7.5 billion cubic meters (for comparison: Nord Stream 1: 55 billion cubic meters) have been built on Spanish territory. In 2019 the construction works were stopped.

There are currently only two relatively small lines, transporting gas from Navarre and the Basque Country to France. Spanish Environment Minister Teresa Ribera recently criticized France for not cooperating in the MidCat project. “The main problem is that of financing. Coming out of Nord Stream 2, the theme becomes relevant again, “said Ignacio Cembrero, a Spanish expert on North Africa.

Sthe maple wants to separate the price of gas from that of electricity

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will first need to lower the price of energy, to calm Spanish households hit by the pandemic, the snow disaster, inflation and the severe drought. Value-added taxes have already been removed from the price of electricity, but this is not enough for the opposition. To divert the very high price of gas from the rest of the market, so that green sources such as energy production from water, solar and wind become more interesting, Sánchezi embarked on a journey through Europe.

He wants a consensus in the EU on this. Some media observers see a window into Spain, both economically and politically, while others see the mission of turning Spain into an energy supplier an illusion. “It is clear that by 2025, thanks to the numerous wind and solar energy parks, we will be able to have a electricity price of 50 euros per megawatt, while in Germany and France the price will be from 60 to 70 euros,” he says. Luis Merino, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Energías Renovables, who refers to the data of the Spanish electricity market operator, Omel. Thus Spain can turn into an interesting country as an energy exporter.

Changing strategy will take time

Such a thing happened in January 2022, when Spain exported to France more electricity than it imported. “Through low population density we have the opportunity to build other hydraulic plants and invest in resources such as global warming,” says Roberto Gómez-Cálvet, energy expert at Universidad Europea in Valencia. “But this is the overall strategy of the current government. , which in principle is OK, will take years to come to life. “

He thinks that giving up the use of coal, which has only happened a few years ago, was a mistake given the current situation. Spain has only 5 nuclear power plants in operation, which are thought to be disconnected from the grid in the coming years: “But this can not be thought of at the moment,” says Gómez-Cálvet. All the more so as Sánchez wants to export energy.

Mallorca as a “laboratory”

The energy expert thinks that the production of green hydrogen is very expensive and with low effectiveness: “But at the moment it does not seem that we have any other option on the table to replace the missing oil and gas.”

For this reason, the construction of the first green hydrogen production plant has started in Mallorca. He is expected to be seen as a technical reference for Southern Europe. “We are currently dealing with a kind of laboratory,” says Gómez-Cálvet.

To realize Sánchez’s dream of turning Spain into a major energy producer, much gas must be imported from the United States, says Roberto Centeno, former head of the Spanish gas company Enagás. lines with France, but to bring gas to Spain from Russia, and not vice versa. ” Algeria can not replace Russia as a supplier to Europe.

Spain currently holds 35 percent of the EU’s liquefied natural gas reserves. Portugal, which also owns liquefied natural gas terminals, supports Sánchez’s dream and sees it as a chance for his country to invest even more in alternative energy.

Cembrero sees that the current situation presents many new geopolitical problems for Spain: “The gas pipelines from Algeria to Morocco, with which Spain would cover part of its gas needs, have been blocked due to political disputes. “With the re-establishment of energy relations between Algeria, Morocco and Spain, many other problems come to the table, such as the possible support of Islamic terrorists in Africa and the status of Western Sahara,” Cembrero said. But no one can escape making unwanted compromises on energy policy in Europe, because the work is very pepper. / DW

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