The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has published the proposal for a provisional resolution of the Narcea 400 kV Fair Transition Knot contest, whose objective is to grant the rights of access to the electricity network to renewable projects that maximize the socio-economic benefits in the southwest of Asturias.
The proposal points to La Barca Energía S.L. as an adjudicator of the 320 MW requested, within the framework of a project of hydraulic power plant for reversible pumping. This initiative will be developed in the just transition zone that covers the municipalities of Allande, Cangas del Narcea, Degaña, Ibias, Salas and Tineo.
The project stands out for its impact on employment, with the expectation of generating a total of 3,478 full-time equivalent jobs annualized over ten years. These job opportunities will be linked both to the operation and maintenance of the plant and to the promotion of new business projects in the territory.
In the field of training, the company undertakes to provide 211,585 hours of vocational training, contributing to the qualification of the local population. It also includes the installation of 4,396.5 kW of self-consumption destined to companies and municipalities in the area.
Barca Energía also expects an investment of 323 million euros in the value chain of the Principality of Asturias for the development of the plant, along with 1 million euros for circular economy initiatives and 2 million euros for the conservation, restoration and promotion of biodiversity and ecosystems of the southwestern Asturian.
To ensure compliance with these commitments, the company must deposit a guarantee of 38.4 million euros. The project must also be subject to the environmental assessment procedure in accordance with the regulations in force. If this guarantee is not formalized, the power would be offered to the next project in the list, corresponding to a 354 MW pumping plant presented by EDP.
This contest is in addition to other lines of support deployed since 2019 by MITECO in the fair transition area of the Asturian southwest. These include support from the Institute for the Just Transition to business projects, municipal initiatives and infrastructure, as well as support from the IDAE. All in all, these actions have involved more than 169 million euros for 38 projects in the region.
The draft provisional resolution is available for consultation in the e-office of the Institute for the Just Transition.