Capital Energy and RIDEA sign an agreement to launch a study on the demographic challenge in Asturias

The scientific work will be headed by the former president of the Principality, Juan Luis Rodríguez-Vigil, and coordinated by the legal expert Javier Junceda

• This project will be divided into 10 core programmes, which will consolidate any action to be taken to alleviate the depletion of the population in the region and will consist of a conference by the author of the corresponding item or a round table of public figures deemed appropriate by the project managers
• For each block, a public session will be held at the headquarters of the cultural entity, and in several of the municipalities in Asturias most affected by the loss of population, where the work conducted will be made public
• The collaboration with RIDEA is part of Capital Energy's desire to become a strategic ally of Asturias through the creation of social, economic and environmental value for the region and its inhabitants

Oviedo, 29 September 2022.- Capital Energy, a Spanish energy company established two decades ago that seeks to become the first vertically-integrated 100% renewable energy operator in the Iberian peninsula, is once again highlighting its commitment to the socio-economic development of Asturias, an essential region for the strengthening of its clean energy project.

The company has signed a collaboration agreement with the Royal Institute of Asturian Studies (RIDEA) to launch a study on the demographic challenge in Asturias, which the cultural entity will conduct over 2022-2023. The project will be headed by Juan Luis Rodríguez-Vigil, former president of the Principality and permanent fellow of RIDEA, and will be coordinated by the legal expert Javier Junceda, president of the Law and Social and Economic Sciences Committee at RIDEA, who will be assisted by experts from the regional government and from the University of Oviedo.

The scientific work will be divided into 10 core programmes, which will consolidate any action to be taken to alleviate the demographic problem in the region. For each block, a public session will be held at the RIDE headquarters, in which the work conducted will be made public and in which a conference will be held by the author of the corresponding item or a round table of public figures deemed appropriate by the project managers.

These sessions may also be held in the municipalities in Asturias most affected by the depletion of the population and with the means to host events of this nature. RIDEA will then publish a book setting out the measures to be implemented to tackle the demographic challenge.

The collaboration with this public body is part of Capital Energy's desire to become a strategic ally of Asturias through the creation of social, economic and environmental value for the region and its inhabitants. In line with this vision, it has created the Territories Project, a different initiative that combines its commitment towards the transformation of the energy model and its desire to boost the development of the regions in which it is present.

To do so, it undertakes to implement agreed actions with local stakeholders that will involve specific lines of action, including the improvement of infrastructures and services, connectivity and digitisation, the protection of artistic and cultural heritage, education, health, and the social and labour integration of disadvantaged groups.

The company has already signed an agreement linked to the Territories Project in the Principality with Allande Local Council, as well as an agreement to boost the employability of the municipality’s inhabitants during the construction and operation of the Castello and El Corral wind farms. It is also finalising similar agreements with several of the towns involved in its projects.

The renewable energies group believes that its activity will help partly alleviate the growing depletion of the population in much of Spain, not only because of the direct and indirect employment it will generate and its contribution to the local economy through taxes, but also because of the expected reduction in energy prices due to greater penetration by renewables. This, in turn, will lead to the introduction of new industries and the increase in the competitiveness of those already creating wealth in Asturias.

Firm commitment to Asturias

Capital Energy has 26 wind projects under development in the region, delivering over 800 MW of installed capacity. More than half are located in areas of influence of green and fair energy transition agreements.

The construction of this portfolio could entail a total investment of around €940 million and produce almost 3,600 jobs during peak construction periods, as well as potential revenues for the regional and municipal coffers of some €20 million. In addition, in the operation and maintenance phase, the group would provide stable, quality employment to almost 100 local workers and generate an annual economic impact of €2.4 million on local coffers.

The company already operates the Buseco wind farm in the region, which is located in the Asturian towns of Tineo, Villayón and Valdés and has a capacity of 50 MW, distributed over ten 5 MW SG 5.0 – 132 turbines, the most powerful in Asturias. This renewable facility is able to generate 129,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean energy per year, equivalent to the consumption of close to 54,000 Asturian households, and prevent the annual emission of over 51,600 tonnes of CO₂.

The development of the wind farm has had a positive impact on the business fabric of both Asturias and Spain. Among local suppliers that Capital Energy has drawn on to promote a key facility for its renewables work and to which it has allocated some €6 Mn are companies with strong roots in the region such as Windar, which made the tower sections of the wind turbines, Isastur -with which it signed an additional partnership agreement, Taxus and Roxu, which did consultancy work and provided various services.

The company is also contemplating the rollout of other vectors associated with the deployment of renewables, such as green hydrogen, as well as state-of-the-art technologies that will optimise facilities and bring stability to the system, including energy storage.

About Capital Energy

In line with its commitment to a green and fair energy transition, Capital Energy currently has a wind and solar portfolio on the Iberian Peninsula of over 30 gigawatts (GW) of power, with more than 8.5 GW already awarded grid access permits.

Capital Energy has achieved its strategic goal of being present along the entire value chain of renewable generation: from design, where the enterprise has a consolidated position thanks to its 20-year track record, to construction, production, storage, operation and supply. The company has 15 offices in Spain and Portugal, with almost 360 employees.

About the Royal Institute of Asturian Studies (RIDEA)

The Royal Institute of Asturian Studies is defined in Article 3 of Law 6/2022 of 29 June as "a public body of the Principality of Asturias created to fulfil the functions entrusted to it by this law, endowed with its own legal standing, full operational capacity and own assets, acting independently in the exercise of its functions.

It is connected with the Regional Government of the Principality of Asturias through the Department with powers in the field of culture, and the incumbent is responsible for chairing the meetings of the General Council when attending them, purely for protocol purposes".

Its objectives focus on “the research, promotion and orientation of the work and studies aimed at preserving, raising and increasing the scientific, cultural and artistic acquis of the Principality of Asturias in all its aspects and, more specifically, in the Asturian people”.