Spain is oversizing its objectives for the production of hydrogen at local and regional level. This is stated by the Report of the Renewable Foundation, “H2 projects, the size matters”, in which the plans of the Ministry of Ecological Transition (Miteco) and Enagás are analyzed for this technology at the end of 2030 and two specific projects of this technology.
Green hydrogen is an emerging technology that is necessary and that will be very useful in the country’s energy transition, says the foundation; But, according to this report, the proposed production objectives by both entities are away from the real demand that can be expected from here to five years and the size of the projects and their local impact. Among other things, he affirms that the PNIEC does not detail what percentage of the renewable park will be dedicated to producing this energy vector.
Therefore, the Foundation warns about the risk of swelling and oversizing the projections of an essential technology to decarbonize key sectors, such as industry. According to the report, the production of green hydrogen must be considered in a realistic scenario and adjusted to the foreseeable demand, in addition to placing the projects with factories that can use it, thus avoiding building a transport network throughout the geography.
The study considers the data of Enagás away from reality, mismatched from the PNIEC and exaggerated. An example: the company, – Public Gestor of everything related to hydrogen in Spain -, raises a maximum potential of 74.3 GW of electrolylars by 2030. But, to achieve this objective, it would be necessary to dedicate more than 100% of the renewable power currently installed currently only to produce hydrogen. Or it would require occupying between 396,000 and 552,000 hectares with renewable facilities aimed at producing H₂, which is equivalent to occupying up to 2.3% of the territory to produce hydrogen and greater surface of the river. With 176 HM3 annual water use, equal to the annual consumption of the Basque Country.