The second edition of the economic and debate forum on the future of Spain “Wake Up, Spain!,” organised by El Español, Invertia and D+I, was inaugurated on April 4 by the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and followed by a speech by the Third Vice President of the Government of Spain and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, on “Spain’s role in the new energy sovereignty”.
Members of the government, social agents, regional presidents, mayors, business people and national and international leaders also spoke at the four-day debate. “Learning, growth and sustainability in a Europe of solidarity” was the motto of this symposium, and its central theme was the analysis of Strategic Projects for the Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) and the main reforms adopted after the arrival of the Next Generation EU funds, all under the umbrella of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for Spain.
Arturo Gonzalo, Chief Executive Officer of Enagás, participated in the first day of “Wake Up, Spain!” in a symposium on “The Spanish Gas System in the new European context,” in which he explained the country’s situation in the current context of energy dependence in the European Union. He stated that “in Spain we have a situation of energy security that should make us feel very secure,” as it has “a highly flexible gas supply infrastructure, with six LNG plants, and can bring gas from anywhere in the world”. On this point, he asserted that “we can be a key reinforcement in Europe’s energy security. And this not only enhances the value of our gas system, but also provides greater guarantees and security to the European gas system”.
When asked about the role of gas in the decarbonisation process, Gonzalo stated that “as a back-up and transition energy it is unbeatable,” and pointed out that steps are being taken towards energy carriers such as biogas, biomethane and hydrogen. As an example, he cited the recent inauguration of Spain’s first industrial renewable hydrogen plant in Lloseta (Majorca), which is part of the Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca project that Enagás is leading together with Acciona, and with the participation of IDAE and CEMEX, before going on to conclude that “Spain is currently the only EU country with the capacity and resources to become a major supplier of renewable hydrogen to Europe”.
At the end of his speech, Gonzalo spoke of the “very active” role of Enagás’ subsidiary, Enagás Renovable, which has a portfolio of more than 30 projects under the renewable energies, renewable hydrogen and storage PERTE plan, “enabling the acceleration of critical mass to make hydrogen business models viable and representing the commitment of the authorities to create a favourable regulatory framework”.
