Capital Energy signs second Territories Project agreement with Fontemourente CMVMC in Galicia

Enterprise to apply electricity bill discount to village residents following Banzas wind farm commissioning

• Company to cut residents’ bills up to €300 a year in a move set to save 30-40% on energy bills annually
• Capital Energy to allocate economic contributions during facility construction and operation of its renewable assets to implement actions agreed on with local stakeholders
• Enterprise currently develops 39 renewable projects requiring regional processing in Galicia - all wind farms and spread across the provinces. Together they have a power of 1,000+ megawatts with commissioning set to entail €1 Bn investment and 6,000 new jobs

Santiago de Compostela, 17 December 2021.- Capital Energy, the Spanish energy enterprise founded in 2002 that aims to become the first vertically integrated 100% renewable energy operator on the Iberian peninsula, has shored up its commitment to the socioeconomic development of rural Galicia.

The enterprise has signed the second collaboration agreement linked to its Territories Project in Galicia, combining its contribution to decarbonising the economy and transforming the energy model with its desire to boost the growth of the different regions, drawing on local talent and powering the social, industrial and business fabric of each area.

Capital Energy has just reached an agreement with the Fontemourente Community of Neighbouring Mountains in Mano Común (CMVMC) whose main objective is to improve the social and economic wellbeing of all the residents of this village in Mazaricos.

The company will apply a discount of up to €300 a year on the electricity bill of registered Fontemourente residents following the commissioning of the Banzas wind farm - located in Outes, Negreira and Mazaricos - provided they contract their supply with the group’s retail arm. This will drive savings of 30-40% on their yearly bills[1].

Capital Energy also undertakes to ensure that the product it offers consumers who meet the requirements is competitive with any other rates that exist on the market when the contract takes effect. Recipients must be up to date with their payments to get the reduction on their energy bill.

With the agreement sealed, Capital Energy and Fontemourente CMVMC align their common interests, which include improving resident quality of life, promoting population settlement in rural Galicia and contributing to the fight against energy poverty.

Fontemourente CMVMC president María del Carmen Martelo thanked the enterprise “for its commitment to enhancing the real wellbeing of locals” expressed, she said, “in specific measures that will facilitate touchpoints with the Banzas wind farm and boost awareness around climate change and the benefits of the green and fair energy transition”.

Xabier Monteagudo, head of Capital Energy Design in Galicia, said: “The enterprise seeks above all to become a strategic partner in all the territories where it operates, boosting effective social and economic wealth creation. The agreement with Fontemourente CMVMC once again highlights our efforts to align our renewables project in the community with the needs and interests of Galicians in general and rural Galicians in particular. We want this to be the first of many agreements of this type that we sign with local corporations and residents’ associations in the municipalities where we will set up our farms.”

The Territories Project - a differential value

Through the Territories Project, Capital Energy is keen to articulate its commitment to sustainable development, become a neighbour in the regions where it operates and contribute to their social and economic growth. To achieve this, the enterprise undertakes to allocate specific economic contributions during the construction and operation phases of its renewable assets and to implement actions agreed on with different local stakeholders to maximise their positive impact.

As a result of this differential approach, the group will consider the specificities and needs of each region in selecting these initiatives, to be framed by specific lines of action including the improvement of infrastructures and services, connectivity and digitisation, protection of artistic and cultural heritage, education, health and the social and labour integration of disadvantaged groups.

The Territories Project kicked off recently via the collaboration agreement the company signed with the municipal government of Lebrija, a town in Seville province where it is building its first Andalusian wind farm, Loma de los Pinos.

Capital Energy aims to pair the development of its renewable energy projects in Spain and Portugal with the launch of social and environmental action programmes pivoted to local needs to fully leverage its contribution to the socioeconomic progress of the places where it operates. In this regard, the enterprise has already launched several initiatives with social organisations in Galicia, mainly focused on supporting disadvantaged groups.

Of note is the signing of a framework agreement with the Persoas con Discapacidade da Bisbarra de Muros (Adisbismur) association, aimed at promoting projects that encourage the employment, social welfare and integration of disabled people in the district. The first project of economic support for the Association, to implement a self-consumption facility at its occupational centre in Outes, has already begun. The company has also donated material, furniture and financial funds to the Discapacitados Psíquicos de A Barcala foundation, belonging to the Negreira and A Baña municipalities and of which both are trustees.

A renewables project committed to Galicia

Capital Energy has been developing renewables infrastructure in Galicia since 2009 and has an office in the San Lázaro district of the Galician capital with 13 employees (all residents of the municipalities where the company is developing its facilities) and the capacity to triple the workforce as project processing moves forward. The team was recently joined by interns from the University of Santiago (USC) complementing their academic education with work at the enterprise following an agreement reached with the institution.

The company is processing around 39 wind farms with the Galician authorities, spread across the four provinces and totalling a combined power in excess of 1,000 MW. Their development would entail an overall investment of some €1.2 Bn and enable Capital Energy to become a major driving force in the region. Building all this renewable capacity would create almost 4,500 jobs in rural areas, add some €350 Mn to GDP and have a fiscal impact of more than €30 Mn.

In the operation and maintenance phase, the enterprise would provide permanent, quality employment to around 170 local workers. Its facilities would contribute more than €12.5 Mn per year to GDP and have an annual fiscal impact on the local coffers of more than €3.7 Mn.

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 around 35 gigawatts (GW) of power, with more than 8.7 GW already awarded grid access permits.

Following the launch of its retail arm, Capital Energy has delivered on its strategic goal of operating across the entire renewable energy value chain: from design, where it has a consolidated position thanks to its nearly 20-year track record, to construction, production, storage, operation and supply. The company has more than 390 employees in 16 offices around Spain and Portugal

[1] According to figures from the OCU consumers’ association, the €300 a year discount would have provided a 38% reduction in the average hourly tariff market bill over the past five years and 33% in 2021.