Power lines connecting pylons of high-tension electricity and a billboard-sized figure of a bull, known as the "Osborne bull", are seen at sunset in El Berron, Spain — Reuters MADRID, July 19 (Reuters): Spanish authorities fear that a speculative rush threatens to hold back the development of renewable energy, saying coveted rights to connect to the national power grid are being secured with the sole aim of selling them on for a profit.
Spain plans to ramp up solar and wind energy and phase out nuclear and coal-fired power stations, creating incentives for speculators to pounce on the rights to a limited number of grid connection points.
Speculators are securing permits to pump power into the grid, which are currently available in exchange for a financial deposit and loose controls on their ability or intention to build a plant, the national competition watchdog has warned.
"Some developers hoard the scarce capacity available with the aim of speculating with it, delaying or paralyzing the installation of viable projects," the CNMC watchdog said in a regulatory proposal last month.
But regulator and industry calls for a legislative crackdown have failed to translate into action because of a political stalemate in Madrid. More than two months after inconclusive national elections, the government headed by Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez is still in caretaker mode.
The government suspects some applicants for the permits who have no experience in the industry just want to trade them, Secretary of State for Energy Jose Dominguez Abascal told Reuters, saying the sector needed a decree to include rules based on the principle that permit holders show proof of use.
"The way to regulate this is to oblige people who have requested a permit to meet certain milestones, make progress in specified time-frames, so that no one can keep a permit in a drawer, waiting for someone to come and buy it," he said.
If all the permits requested from grid operator Red Electrica so far were translated into real projects, Spain would have enough renewable power to run 84 million households, four times the country's actual number of homes.
Dominguez said the mass requests could get in the way of future development, frustrate work to upgrade the grid, and keep the price of energy high for consumers.
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