Miguel Sanz Sesma, Government of Navarra
Release Date: 2009-03-03
Having been the President of Navarra for 13 years, you have been the driving force behind Navarra’s renewable energy revolution that is destined to make it Europe’s first region that is able to provide 100% of its energy needs through local renewable energy production. What has been the secret behind this success?To answer this question we should go back almost 3 decades when the government of Navarra concluded that the region was too dependent on fossil fuels. This external dependency encouraged the Government to set ambitious targets to for the use of clean energy and ultimately the development of Navarra’s Energy Plan. Subsequently, the Government of Navarra, in cooperation with institutions dedicated to the region's economic development created the company Energia Hidroelectrica de Navarra. This company was initially created to develop small hydroelectric power plants but, over time, it became a major player in all renewable energies. Having capitalized on the region’s small hydropower potential, the next development priority was the wind industry which was then followed by photovoltaic, biomass and bio diesel. In order to make this happen the Government of Navarra joined forces with of its development agency SODENA and private companies such as Iberdrola, Portland Cement and Caja Navarra Savings Trust, the largest bank of the region of Navarra. The success of developing renewable energy in our region has been due to the leadership of our Government, the commitment and investments of private companies, and, most importantly, the involvement of the people of Navarra. A good example would be the development of wind and solar farms which our people considered as leisure spaces.
Fourteen years ago, when we decided to enter an emerging sector such as the renewable energy sector, we were very conscious about the risks involved. The Government of Navarra insured that those risks, being both economic and social, were covered. The cooperation between Caja de Navarra and SODENA controlled the economic risk associated with the development of the renewable energy sector. We were also able to cover the social risk by offering the population of the region the opportunity to benefit from the return on our investment of the sector. Of course, all of this has been made possible by creating a framework that allowed the creation of wind and solar farms and at the same time insured a minimum return on investment to the investor. Even though the return on investment is directly impacted by the feed-in tariff, I would say that the creation of this framework has been the key of our success.
Navarra’s renewable energy policies have been implemented in very good economic times. What is the strategy that the Government of Navarra will follow to continue enhancing the generation of renewable energy while Spain is impacted by the global economic crisis?
One of the great advantages for Navarra is the fact that CENER, the National Centre of Renewable Energies, is located in our region. Secondly, Navarra has been a pioneer in the development of renewable energies and consequently has the potential to serve as a model when it comes to the development of renewable energy policies by the Obama Government in the United States. Navarra has a long track of success when it comes to renewable energy, and today Navarra is capable of generating 65% of its energy consumption from renewables. Moreover, Navarra has created a strong industry thanks to the initiatives of the private sector and several Spanish flagship companies such as Iberdrola, Acciona and Gamesa located in our region. This turns out to be a great advantage for the region as 5% of our population works on the renewable energy sector, which represents 7% of our GDP.
The Government of Navarra will definitely continue supporting the development of the renewable energy sector, and has identified Research & Development as a strategic development priority. In 2005, our focus on R&D was underlined by the inauguration of a Wind Turbine Testing Laboratory at the Spanish National Centre of Renewable Energies. This facility, which includes six state-of-the-art testing centres, is unique in its size and the power of its machinery as well as in the full range of services offered in a single location. All R&D activities that take place at CENER are really useful since they can also be applied to other emerging sectors such as biomedicine or nanotechnology.
The Region of Navarra has the ambition to meet 100% of its electricity needs with locally produced renewable energy by in the coming years. At the same time, the European target of 20% renewable energy in the energy mix by 2020. Does this mean that the Region of Navarra is much more ambitious than the rest of Europe or it does it imply that Navarra’s model cannot be transferred to larger entities such as the European Union? To which extend could the model of Navara be applied in countries such as the US or China？
Undoubtedly, it would be extremely difficult to apply Navarra’s model to other regions, but of course it should be considered as an example. Our model will not enable the US to meet 100% of its energy needs with renewable energy, but it can truly be used as a model for the optimization of the energy mix. In the past, everyone would say that it was much more expensive to generate electricity from renewables then from coal or nuclear, but what about the cost of the CO2 emissions and the long term impact of nuclear waste? All these costs should be taken into account and that is the reason why many countries are now looking at renewable energies.
Of course we have to be realistic and accept that generating 100% of electricity consumption from renewable energy sources it is almost impossible. I do believe that all the energies are necessary. I believe in nuclear and fossil fuels, but I consider that renewable energies should play an important role in the energy mix.
Navarra’s renewable energy achievements and ambitions are a well kept secret at the international level. Have you received any visits from Chinese policy makers with an interest in duplicating your succes?
We have not yet received any visit from Chinese policy makers, but we have received several visits from Chinese companies operating in the PV sector that are located here in Navarra. For us, China is a great market not only regarding PV but also regarding wind and biomass.
The government played a really important role supporting the energy sector here. Which role do you aspire to play in increasing the business ties between renewable energy companies in Navarra and China?
Our companies have entered into joint ventures and strategic alliance with Chinese companies in various sectors. When it comes to wind and solar energy we particularly eager to increase our ties with China, since China is one of the world’s largest markets in the wind industry and the leading manufacturer of solar panels.
What do you think that the economy of Navarra will look like in the coming 10 years and what will be the role of the renewable energy sector?
I believe that we will have realized our ambition meet 100% of our electricity needs with renewable energy, and hopefully we will be able to achieve this target before I leave office in two years. By 2019 I believe that we will also have developed other sources of energy such as hydrogen, I am sure that by that time the process of separating hydrogen from the oxygen in the water will be least costly. Also, I believe that thanks to CENER we will be able to make a huge contribution to the renewable energy sector. In 10 years Navarra will continue to be considered as a model when it comes to renewable energy but we will not only be talking about wind, biodiesel and PV but also about other sources of energy.
I would like to give you the opportunity to send a final message on behalf of the people of Navarra to our readers in China in order to strengthen future collaboration between China and Navarra.
I would like China to consider Spain as a model for renewable energies, and of course when thinking about Spain I would like them to think about Navarra. Also, I would like the Chinese community to consider renewable energy as social responsibility and remind China that investing in renewable energy is investing in global sustainability. I would like China to believe that it is essential to create a much more sustainable environment and that Spain and the region of Navarra welcome collaboration with China in this respect. In Navarra China will be able to find the support from the government, private sector and of the whole community.
| Company: | Government of Navarra |
| Position: | President |
| Country: | Spain |