Sustainable Energy in
Euskadi - Basque Country

Palace of Congresses and Music of Bilbao. Copyright: EVE

Mission:

Orientation towards a sustainable energy development based on intensified energy efficiency programs, great launching of renewable energy, greater participation of cleaner energy and achievement of a more secure Basque energy system.

Main action strategies in energy efficiency, saving and CHP in the Basque Country:

Regulations: Development of legislation at regional level for energy efficiency and participation at state level.

Promotion: Encouragement of sectoral energy saving agreements and/or plants. Institutional backing for sectoral efficiency actions.

Economic: Promotion, creation and maintenance of own schemes for financing and/or economic aid for energy investments. Adaptation/coordination of tax incentives for investment in energy.

Business: Participation in project development, R&D and efficiency.

Example-setting: Application of specific programmes of action by local authorities, government and public authorities for their centres, buildings, facilities, fleets of vehicles, etc.

Influence: Information, awareness, dissemination.

Measures for the development of renewable energy sources:

Technical: Public-sector support for research and development activities through the Basque Science and Technology Plan.

Economic: Request the central Spanish administration to keep up economic compensation for developing renewable energy. In addition, public Basque resources will be used to promote projects for harnessing renewable energy sources.

Information-education: Awareness campaigns to promote renewable energy.

Educational: Specialists in renewable energy to be trained in collaboration with other institutions (universities, vocational colleges, public administration, etc.)

Electricity Infrastructures: Promotion by the government and power companies for improvements in power grids.

Administrative: Combined and coordinated efforts by all public authorities.

Regulations: Development of regulations, especially at municipal level (bylaws, etc.) which will help promote the development of renewable energy, especially solar energy.

The Autonomous Community of the Basque Country is an area of 7.240 km², inhabited by a population of 2.1 million people. It consists of three provinces, Gipuzkoa, Araba and Bizkaia, and its capital is Vitoria-Gasteiz.

The geography of the Basque Country is mainly mountainous and four climatic zones can be roughly distinguished: the Atlantic in the north, a sub-Atlantic climate zone, a sub-Mediterranean climate zone and the southern end, entering the Ebro depression and Rioja Alavesa, where the climate is continental with dry and hot summers.

Euskadi enjoys a high level of self-government in matters as important as health, education, security, housing or taxation. This autonomy to decide its own organisation stems from the Statute of Gernika, approved by referendum on 25 October 1979, which recognises the existence of a Government with executive powers and a Parliament with general legislative capacity. Euskadi also has two bodies inherited from the traditional Basque codes of rights in each province - the General Assembly, with regulatory and operational capacities similar to parliament, and the Provincial Council, its executive institution. Their existence gives the Autonomous Community a very decentralised organisational structure.

Another fundamental pillar of Basque self-government is the "Economic Agreement", the Autonomous Community's financial support system, which gives the Basque institutions autonomy to collect and administer public taxation depending on their own budgets and on agreements signed with the central Spanish administration.

The Basques have built around their language an original and creative culture, marked by many different influences. Its emblematic practices and its genius creators offer the rest of the world an artistic face which is both singular and modern.

Cultural heritage encompasses all know-how (knowledge, techniques, facts and daily gestures), the spoken word (language, myths, legends, place names and all other oral traditions), social practices (games and sports, celebrations, gastronomy) and artistic productions (song, theatre, dance, plastic arts and literature).

The Autonomous Community of the Basque Country has a higher level of industrialisation than the European average and amongst the highest of any region in Spain. The region's industry originally grew out of the iron ore mined in the area, which has now been used up. Although the blast furnaces have gone, there is still a major industrial sector based on steel, metal processing and transport construction. Other non-steel industries are also important, including cement and paper.

However, in recent years, industry has tended give way to the services sector. Services now account for over 60% of GDP, as opposed to a figure of 30% for industry and less than 1% for the primary sector.

Gross energy consumption per capita in the Basque Country is 3.69 toe/capita, which is slightly above the EU-27 average. In general, Basque consumption is higher than that of countries in Southern Europe and lower than Northern Europe. Basque energy demand accounts for 5.4% of the Spanish total.

The energy in most demand is natural gas, accounting for 44.2% of the total, followed by petroleum at 39.2%. Imports of electricity represented 7.7% of demand, coal 3.2% and renewables 5.4%.

The Basque Country generates 55% of the electricity consumed, mainly in combined cycle power plants.

Industry and transport are the two sectors with the highest energy consumption in the Basque Country. The industrial profile of the Basque economy, combined with the climatic characteristics of the region mean that consumption by sectors is quite different to the European average; in the Basque Country industry and the tertiary sector (residential and services) account for 46.6% and 20% of consumption respectively, whereas in EU-15 they represent 27% and 39%. The sectors with the greatest growth in consumption in 2000 were transport (31%) and services (21%).

The current Energy Strategy of the Basque Country for the period 2001-2010 is a great challenge, in terms of strategic objectives, environmental commitments and value creation for Basque society. The 3E2010 Strategy sets out the criteria laid down by the Basque Parliament, EU energy directives and the economic, social and territorial conditioning factors of the Basque Country. These directives and the targets to 2010 may be summarised as follows:

• Highlighting energy efficiency actions in all sectors that will help reduce energy consumption in overall terms and in terms of energy intensity, in accordance with EU targets. The aim is to achieve energy savings of 15%, incorporating measures that will enable annual energy savings of 975,000 toe.
• Greater efforts to increase the harnessing of renewable resources in line with EU targets. It is planned to multiply the use of renewable energy sources fourfold to 978,000 toe, representing 12% of Basque energy demand and to triplicate the use of natural gas to 4.7 bcm (billion cubic metres).
• Improved supply security, competitiveness and quality of the Basque energy system, through better energy infrastructures and reinforced interconnections. The goal is to restructure existing generating plants, replacing conventional thermal power stations with 2,800 MW of more competitive, less pollutant natural-gas-fired combined-cycle facilities that will allow the right balance to be struck between Basque power demand and supply.
• Contributing to meeting Kyoto targets, and improving environmental quality at local level. With this aim in mind, it is planned to limit any increase in greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption to less than 15% of 1990 emissions by 2010.
• Promoting agreements and participation between the various agents with a view to reinforcing research and technological development in the area of energy, especially in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.

At present, a new Energy Strategy of the Basque Country is under development that will cover the period 2011 – 2020.

The basic directives behind Basque energy policy for the period 2001-2010 are founded on the criteria established by the Basque Parliament, the European Union’s directives on energy and sustainable development, and the economic, social and territorial conditioning factors of the Basque Country.

These guidelines of Basque energy policy may be summarized as:

• To enhance actions in energy efficiency in all sectors that will help reduce energy consumption in overall terms and in terms of energy intensity, in keeping with EU targets.
• To intensity efforts to achieve greater use of local resources and renewable energy sources, especially in line with EU targets.
• To improve self-sufficiency, competitiveness and quality of the Basque energy system, by improving energy infrastructures and reinforcing interconnections, a priority objective for the European union. In generation, to promote the progressive closure of conventional thermal power stations, ad their replacement with more energy-efficient and environmentally sound power generating plant.
• To contribute to meeting the targets set in the Kyoto Protocol, and improve environmental quality at local level.
• To promote agreements and participation between the various agents with a view to reinforcing research and technological development in the area of energy, especially in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.

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To date, 10 municipalities (Donostia-San Sebastián, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Areatza, Bilbao, Irún, Abanto-Zierbena, Balmaseda, Amezketa, Basauri, Oñati) among which are the three Basque capitals, have joined the Covenant of Mayors. As result, 42% of the Basque inhabitants are committed to the European Commission’s objectives of 20-20-20 and municipalities summing up to over 52% of the population presented interest in the initiative. These municipalities are committed to develop and adopt a SEAP.

The municipality of Vitoria-Gasteiz has already submitted its SEAP.

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Interaction with other initiatives at the Regional, National or European level:

The ENNEREG project is very closely linked to the Covenant of Mayors initiative, where EVE has been a Supporting Structure since the year 2009. One of the objectives of the project is to promote the creation of Supporting Structures in the participating regions. In this sense, EVE can contribute with its experience.

EVE, as the Basque Government’s energy agency has under its mission to elaborate the Energy Strategy for the Basque Country. Currently, EVE is working with different stakeholders to adopt this strategy for the period 2011-2020 and the work undertaken in the ENNEREG project is helping to do so.

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