EDP’s Asturian green hydrogen valley overcomes environmental processing
The Office of Ecologic Transition, Industry and Economic Development decrees favorably for the Declaration of Environmental Impact during the first phase of the project
The project Asturias H2 Valley has received a favorable Declaration of Environmental Impact (DIA in Spanish) on the Office of Ecologic Transition, Industry and Environmental Impact’s end. This is a crucial step towards the transformation of Aboño’s power plant into the Asturian green hydrogen valley. At the same time, this decision reinforces the maturity of EDP’s initiative.
With a favorable DIA on their side, the company keeps moving forward towards achieving the implementation of the first 150 MW of electrolysis capability for the production of green hydrogen in Aboño. We are talking about the first phase of this project in an emplacement with potential for more than 500 MW that might be developed according to market conditions. EDP wishes to contribute to the decarbonization of the industry through this energy vector.
The Government of the Principality of Asturias has decreed its decision mere days after the European Commission declared the initiative Project of Common Interest (PCI). This acknowledgement adds up to others previously awarded, which make Asturias H2 Valley Europe’s most honoured green hydrogen project by the European Commission.
As a PCI, the Asturian green hydrogen valley will enjoy a chance to benefit from accelerated planification and permits, better regulatory conditions, reduced administrative costs thanks to simplified environmental evaluation processes and better visibility for investors, as well as a right to request funds from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
EDP’s initiative is also recognised as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI), a designation given by the European Directorate-General for Competency which approves state aids above the limits established in the general regulations.
Moreover, among the Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) of renewable energy, renewable hydrogen, and storage (ERHA), the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE), dependant on the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, has published the granting of aid to the Aboño Asturias H2 Valley project through two channels, the Pioneros program and the Cadena de Valor program, during the first quarter of this year.
In July, the Aboño Asturias H2 Valley project also received the recognition of the European Innovation Fund, one of the biggest and most competitive public financing instruments to support the development of innovative low carbon technologies.
EDP is also acting as a tractor company of the green hydrogen value chain, something that has been reflected in the approval of a line of support from the European Commission, through the so-called I3 Fund, which in Asturias has been coordinated by the Asturian Energy Foundation (FAEN).
EDP has just been recognized as the world’s most sustainable electricity company according to the S&P CSA Scores 2023, achieving the best result in a list of 256 companies from around the world, a leading position it holds for the third time in the last ten years.
With this project, EDP asserts its ambition to become 100% green by 2030. The company is advancing with its 2023-2026 Business Plan, through which they will make investments worth 25 billion euros in the deployment of renewable energy, in making power grids more flexible, and in designing and offering innovative solutions to their customers.