We reaffirm our commitment to decarbonisation with the roll-out of our first heat network in Palencia

• The company plans to invest around €36 million in the implementation of a heat distribution network for the supply of heating and hot water that will be operational in 2024.
• It becomes a much cleaner, safer and more efficient alternative for users than those generated with gas or diesel and, in addition, it does not require any investment for the end customer as the connection has zero cost and they only pay for the energy consumed.
• Consumers of this heat network could save up to 30% on their energy bills.
   

Iberdrola España reaffirms its commitment to decarbonisation with the roll-out of its first heat network in Palencia. The company plans to invest around €36 million in the implementation of a heat distribution network for the supply of heating and hot water to homeowners' associations, industries and government buildings.

This more energy-efficient and economical way of obtaining hot water and heating, which will be operational in 2024, is a much cleaner, safer and more efficient alternative for users than those generated with gas or diesel and, furthermore, does not require any investment for the end customer as the connection has a zero cost and they only pay for the energy consumed.

"This project will serve to accelerate the decarbonisation of heating and domestic hot water (DHW) services, helping to have cleaner air in the environment and a lower energy bill in homes that is not subject to the price fluctuations suffered by fossil fuels at the international level. In addition, by connecting local industry to the network, either to provide its waste heat or to consume heat from the network, or both, a decisive contribution is made to energy efficiency and the circular economy", emphasises Celiano García, Commercial Director of Iberdrola España in Castilla y León.

Consumers of this heat network could save up to 20-30% on their energy bills, with the savings being guaranteed against the system it replaces by contract and leaving the old system as a back-up. 

Furthermore, the implementation of this project will prevent the emission of approximately 25,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The company has the support of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, as the initiative has been selected to receive a grant of €4.9 million from the Incentive Programme for heating and cooling network projects using renewable energy sources on a competitive basis, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan - financed by the European Union - NextGenerationEU.

This initiative is the first of an ambitious portfolio of projects that Iberdrola is promoting in Spain and which would cover an approximate demand of more than 4 TWht/year. For its execution, in 2021 Iberdrola España set up with Recursos de la Biomasa, S.L.U. a company called IR Redes de Calor y Frío, S.L., whose corporate purpose is the promotion, development, construction and operation of heat and cooling networks. Recursos de la Biomasa, S.L.U. (REBI. REBI is an energy services company with recognised prestige and extensive experience in the design, management and operation of thermal installations for residential, tertiary and industrial use, and has considerable experience in the design, construction and maintenance of large heat networks, currently providing energy services to more than 10,000 homes and public buildings in its six operational networks - Olvega, Soria, Aranda de Duero, Guadalajara, University of Valladolid and Cuenca.

A heat network supplying 9,000 homes

The heat network is powered by the renewable energy around it such as industrial waste heat, heat pumps, geothermal, solar biomass and any type of energy available to supply hot water and heating to a residential complex or a city reducing emissions and therefore pollution.
The heat travels from a central plant in the form of hot water through a system of buried pipes to a substation that organises the transfer of the energy to the internal circuit of the buildings. This is an activity that has many opportunities for growth in Spain.

With this first heat network in Palencia, a 100% renewable generation plant will supply 9,000 homes through this piping system of approximately 25 kilometres that will make up the impulsion/return network of the centralised installation that will connect the plant with the buildings and industries involved. In addition, the heat network will have a 10,000 m3 storage tank that will allow decoupling production from heat demand.

In addition to the advantages for users, who will have an intelligent control of the energy of the buildings, improving their energy rating, and will have a simpler hot water and heating system, which will improve reliability compared to traditional systems, the rest of the surroundings where it is developed and the environment will also benefit, as the surplus energy is used to produce heat, improving efficiency and the local economy and reducing CO2 emissions and pollution of the environment.

Reducing CO2 emissions

Household heating in Europe is responsible for about 36% of CO2 emissions. In this context, the European Commission has set targets to reduce emissions by at least 40% by 2030, compared to 2008 levels, and by at least 50% by 2050.

The new generation of heat networks is characterised by the integration of advanced energy storage technologies. In this case, an energy storage tank is used to accumulate excess heat generated by renewable sources when demand is low. This tank allows heat to be stored during periods of surplus production and released when demand increases, optimising the energy efficiency of the system and ensuring a continuous supply of heat to users, allowing greater flexibility in the management of heat supply and facilitating the integration of intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind energy, into the heat network.