- The decommissioning process of the plant is now 94% complete.
- While this work is being carried out, Endesa is developing a plan for the future that aims to revive the industrial fabric with an investment of 1,800 million euros and the construction of 1,843 MW of renewable power, which will generate more than 6,300 jobs in the construction stage and 370 direct jobs linked to the renewable project.
Endesa today demolished the third boiler at the Andorra thermal power plant, the last of the plant's slender structures and a further step in the process being undertaken to close and dismantle the company's coal-fired power plants that the company and which will be completed on the mainland by 2027.
The demolition of the three boilers at the plant, together with that of the three cooling towers and the 343-metre chimney represent a milestone, not only for the symbolic nature of the structures but also from a technical point of view. In order to carry out these actions, it has been necessary to design exhaustive procedures with the aim of guaranteeing absolute safety and effective demolition conditions. This same prevention is being applied in all the processes that make up the dismantling and demolition work of the plant.
With regard to the demolishing of the boilers, the process was complex as it involved metal elements whose analysis, study and execution process were different compared to the demolition of concrete structures. The demolishing followed a prior specific project in which the impact of the preparatory work was structurally analysed, as well as the dynamics of the blast, its consequences, the direction of the fall, mitigation measures for the impacts, as well as vibration and safety measures for all the affected elements and structures.
For the demolition, 340 detonators and 620 kg of explosive have been used and a safety radius of 400 meters has been set. The use of explosives is the safest procedure. Once the boiler had been demolished, heavy machines were used to cut and prepare the materials for transport. This avoided workers having to operate workers at heights and maximised the safety of the process.
The blasting of each of the boilers has produced around 10,000 tonnes of metal waste that will be managed in accordance with environmental regulations. The waste will be assessed for later use. Each of the plant's boilers was 70 m high and 780 square metres in floor area.
Dismantling work
The Teruel thermal power plant (Andorra) was built between 1974 and 1979. It was in operation for more than four decades and forged a deep-rooted bond with the area. After Endesa requested the closure of the plant in 2019, the decommissioning process began by drawing up a plan for the future of the surrounding area that includes the implementation of new industry and the development of 1,843 MW of new power, in this case renewable.
The dismantling of the Teruel thermal power plant is an operation of great technical complexity that is mobilizing enormous resources: The employment of about 250 people from the local area to take care of the work until it is completed in 2025. Alongside this Endesa has organised training courses in Workplace Risk Prevention for dismantling and operating industrial installations, attended by 170 local people who benefitted from the promotion of contracting local labour as specialised personnel, an action that enabled more than 2,000 people to be trained throughout Spain for different qualifications relating to our activity.
The human team doing the work consists mostly of former contractors and people from the Andorra-Sierra de Arcos region and surrounding areas, since Endesa's commitment to sustainability includes giving priority in the tender for the award of the job to bids that included the largest number of local workers.
Exhaustive planning and coordination of all health and safety and environmental aspects are considered a priority. In this regard, the management of the demolition project is in the hands of a multi-disciplinary team which is exactly what is required for a complex task like the one being undertaken in Andorra. The work is the result of a meticulous project and the development of working procedures with the aim of avoiding occupational accidents despite the high number of personnel involved.
From an environmental point of view, a selective demolition system is being applied to segregate and characterize each of the 260.000 tons that make up the volume of the demolition. An exhaustive environmental monitoring plan was implemented, with special attention paid to emissions and discharges during the execution of the works, in order to reduce the effects on the environment as much as possible.
As part of Endesa's commitment to the circular economy, concrete waste is expected to be reused, so Endesa installed high-capacity equipment in Teruel to fully recover this recycled aggregate, which will be used to fill the holes generated by the works, as well as in the morphological remodelling of the landscape after the demolitions. The aim is to revalue 90% of all the waste generated by these works.
Andorra Thermal Power Plant
The "Teruel" thermal power plant, located in Andorra, consisted of three units, with a total capacity of 1,100 MW. Each group had a boiler, turbo alternator and cooling tower. The site also included the coal and limestone deposit, an ash and slag evacuation system, a desulphurisation plant and a 343-m high chimney for the evacuation of combustion gases.
It was built with the aim of carrying out an extensive use of black lignite from mines located in the Teruel mining basin, mixed with imported coals. The lignite was transported directly to the plant's coal deposit and the imported coal was transported by ship to the port of Tarragona and from there by rail to the plant. Natural gas was used as an auxiliary fuel for start-ups and combustion support.
It was active for four decades and produced 224,000 GWh, equivalent to mainland electricity consumption for a year. To do this, it needed 142 million tonnes of coal, of which 110.9 million tonnes were domestic coal and 31.7 million tonnes of imported coal.
As a result, to ensure the compatibility of the economic development of the plant and use of this lignite with the conservation of the environment during the plant's useful life, a series of actions were taken that involved investments of more than €400 million. As a result of these investments, the plant was able to stabilize air emissions at levels below 1 ton per megawatt hour produced.
Renewable development
The Teruel thermal power plant (Andorra) has been operational for more than four decades, creating a deep-rooted link in the area. Once Endesa requested the closure of the plant in 2019, the dismantling process began with a plan for the future of the region that includes the implementation of new industry and the development of new power, in this case, renewable.
Andorra will go from producing energy using coal, to generating clean energy with an installed capacity of 1,843.6 MW as a result of 7 hybridised renewable projects, 2 storage projects with batteries, a green hydrogen project and a synchronous compensator.
This renewable development is accompanied by a social-economic plan for the area that aims to generate employment and value in the area surrounding what was once one of the largest thermal power plants in Spain.
The renewable development projected by Endesa for Andorra does not only involve the construction of new wind and solar capacity, but also the hybridisation of these projects and storage with two battery plants, which makes them unique since they will make it possible to get the most out of these technologies, with higher quality and energy security and a balanced service by producing as many hours as possible. The new renewable plants will be located in Albalate del Arzobispo, Híjar, Samper de Calanda, Castelnou, Andorra, Calanda, Alcañiz, La Puebla de Híjar, Jatiel, and Alcorisa.
In addition to these projects there will also be a 15 MW electrolyser that will enable the management of surplus renewable energy for the production of green hydrogen that will help decarbonise industries in the surrounding area, the construction of an electrolyser factory, and a synchronous compensator that will enable this renewable energy to be discharged more frequently which will improve the performance of the electricity transport grid.
For the construction of these facilities, Endesa, through its renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power España, will invest more than 1,800 million euros and, together with the socio-economic plan, will generate more than 6,300 jobs in total, of which more than 370 will be direct jobs linked to the renewable project. To these will be added other stable long-term jobs once the entire social-economic development plan has been deployed. All this makes a total of 500 permanent, long-term jobs that will be generated by 2028 under this plan developed by Endesa and its 30 partners, which far exceeds the direct and indirect jobs generated by the thermal power plant.
These renewable initiatives will have one more hybridisation, this time with the primary sector, since all installations will be open to this type of activity. Endesa has already signed preliminary agreements with sheep farming companies based in the area, with companies involved in animal fur/skin activity and with agricultural-sheep breeding companies.
Likewise, the Socioeconomic Support Plan includes the development of energy communities with a total power of 3,000 kW in several municipalities of the Just Transition Node. The towns that are an essential part of this initiative will participate in the installation of photovoltaic self-consumption plants at public locations with a total capacity of 3,000 kWp. This will enable 3,800 beneficiaries to save significantly on their electricity bills, thus favouring the autonomy and energy efficiency of these towns. Alacón is the first municipality to join this initiative.
With regard to training, Endesa is supporting this plan with a programme of more than 300,000 hours of training related to the activity that will be generated by the renewable plants. It is planned to benefit more than 5,000 people with preference given to the most vulnerable groups in rural environments such as young people, women and the unemployed.
The training plan consists of a first block in renewable energies, which will consist of a number of courses, for solar panel assemblers, the operation and maintenance of renewable facilities and the installation of solar power for self-consumption. And a second block of training in activities of the primary sector, which will be carried out in collaboration with reference entities in the area such as AFAMMER (Association of Families and Women in the Rural Environment), ASAJA (Association of Young Farmers), CFP San Blas and Juan XXIII Foundation and ATADI for people with disabilities. More than 30 training modules have been defined, ranging from organic farming, aromatics, e-commerce, digital cards, beekeeping, etc. Finally, training will also be organised with regard to inclusion, with a training programme designed together with the Juan XXIII Foundation for people with disabilities and based on clearing and composting.
Under the name of Rural School of Sustainable Energy and in collaboration with all these entities, different editions will be launched in a calendar planned for the 2023-2025 period. As part of this Programme, Endesa has already offered 60,000 hours of training and has given 30 courses with the participation of more than 800 students.
About Endesa
Endesa is a leading electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. In addition, it is the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. It undertakes end-to-end business including the generation, distribution and retailing of electricity. It also offers, through Endesa X, value-added services aimed at the electrification of energy uses in homes, companies, industries and public administrations, including electric mobility, where it is one of the main operators of charging points in Spain. Endesa is firmly committed to the United Nations' SDGs and strongly supports the development of renewable energies through Enel Green Power España, the digitalisation of networks through e-distribution, and Corporate Social Responsibility. The Endesa Foundation is also active in CSR. Our team totals around 9,260 employees. Endesa is part of Enel, Europe's largest electricity group.