Spain should accelerate implementation of its National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) to 2025 rather than 2030 to boost green economic growth in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, according Iberdrola chief executive Ignacio Galan.
Galan, who was addressing the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations summit today, said the NECP provided a roadmap for green growth that could generate 300,000 jobs.
Accelerating the plan to meet its goals by 2025 would mean investment of €32bn in renewables creating 90,000 jobs in the sector alone to bring new capacity online, he said.
The president of Iberdrola also advocated increasing energy storage capacity, which brings flexibility to the system.
“An investment of €5bn in hydroelectric pumping and batteries until 2025 would create 14,000 jobs,” Galan added.
Overall, bringing the NECP forward to 2025 “would have an immediate effect on economic growth and employment, increasing competitiveness, reducing our energy dependence on foreign countries, improving the balance of payments and reducing our harmful gas emissions, all without putting pressure on public finances”.
He added that electrification of the economy is key to economic recovery, as the sector delivers one of the greatest multiplier effects.
“For every internal job generated in our sector, 12 are generated in sectors such as construction, manufacturing, engineering and installation services,” Galan said.
Investment in electricity distribution networks could generate up to 40,000 jobs in Spain.
But for this to happen, measures must be adopted such as “the elimination of the maximum investment limit of 0.13% of GDP that we have in our legislation”, he said.
Galan also outlined the benefits of promoting electrification in other energy areas of the economy, such as heating and cooling.
In the transport sector, bringing forward investments in infrastructure for recharging and electrifying urban bus fleets would mean investments of €5bn and 14,000 jobs.
He also urged Spain not to miss out on the development of new technologies, such as green hydrogen.
“Decarbonising 25% of industrial hydrogen would mean investments of more than €4bn and the creation of 11,000 jobs in a new national industry,” he said.
But to take advantage of these opportunities a number of measures must be taken as a matter of urgency.
These include a reorientation of taxation based on the principle of ‘the polluter pays’, he said.
The electricity market model needs to be revised in order to solve the economic situation of the basic and backup electricity generation technologies necessary for the security of supply.
Administrative processes should be streamlined and support for R&D increased.
Teams of professionals also need to be trained to adapt to this new digital and renewable reality and industrial policy should be designed so that it promotes the development of national industry in these areas.