In order to analyze the project for the green hydrogen plant in Meirama (Coruna), which will have a power of 30 MW in its first phase and may reach up to 200 MW, the first vice-president of the Xunta, Francisco Conde, met this Friday with officials of Reganosa, Repsol, and Naturgy. Additionally, 400 jobs are anticipated to be created in this first stage.
The renewable hydrogen plant will start out with a 30 MW capacity and be able to scale up to 200 MW in various stages. In the initial phase, it will produce more than 4,000 tons of renewable hydrogen annually, and it will eventually produce 30,000 tons annually.
The Xunta “will streamline the process from the administrative point of view, once the application is submitted to declare the project as a priority economic initiative,” according to Conde, in statements to the media this Friday following the meeting.
Furthermore, he emphasized that “the initiative will consolidate the growth of industrial projects in Galicia and allow the decarbonization of the economy.” He has also stated that he thinks the neighborhood will serve as “a landmark from the point of green hydrogen in Spain.” It is “one more stage in the energy transfer,” he says in this paragraph, and “it is related to a just transition zone like Meirama” in this particular instance.
400 jobs
Emilio Bruquetas, the CEO of Reganosa, and Tomás Malango, the director of the hydrogen at Repsol, were present at the meeting. They both explained that the hydrogen produced using renewable sources will be used for industrial purposes to replace the conventional hydrogen currently used by the Repsol refinery in A Corua, among other uses.
Silvia Sanjoaqun, Naturgy’s head of new business, also added that it is anticipated that the plant’s first phase will result in the creation of 400 jobs overall, including both direct and indirect jobs. So, he said, “with which more employment prospects are projected,” the initiative is scalable.
Conde stated that in order for these projects to become a reality, the Xunta has encouraged the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco) to revise the electrical planning “as soon as possible.”
He noted that initiatives like hydrogen plants “require reinforcement and investments within the power grid infrastructure in Spain” in this line. He also emphasized the significance of changes to distribution and transportation networks.
The first vice president stated that it is “a priority” and that a report from the Xuunta “in which the investment needs are defined” has been forwarded to Miteco.
He underlined that the sooner this adjustment is made, the sooner we can support these projects from both an administrative and a needs perspective.
Alliance for Industrial Green Hydrogen
On the other hand, the first vice president emphasized that the Green Hydrogen Industry Alliance’s constitution, a project supported by the Xunta, was also discussed at the meeting held this Friday.
He remembered that his goal is to position Galicia in relation to the production of green hydrogen and its potential industrial applications.
Conde has maintained that the various businesses, technology enterprises, and research institutes, among others, will be a member of this upcoming alliance. He, therefore, implied that Repsol, Naturgy, and Reganosa “will also be able to join this effort.”
