Ence’s energy complex in Huelva has completed the audit process of the Sure certification standard, which guarantees the sustainability of its own biomass and direct purchases consumed in the company’s Huelva facilities, mainly composed of local fruit trees, by-products from the agriculture of the olive grove, pruning of parks and surrounding gardens, and remains of the agricultural activity of almonds, cotton and remains of fruit trees.
In this way, the company’s biomass renewable energy plants in Huelva have pioneered the adaptation in the sector to the sustainability requirements of the Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (REDII), a European regulation that establishes various criteria that must be met by all biomass used in the bioenergy sector, focused on ensuring its sustainability, a correct mass balance, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency.
Ence’s biofactories in Pontevedra and Navia and the company’s biomass power generation plants in Mérida, Jaén and Ciudad Real have previously obtained this certification, making Ence the first company in Europe to start the verification of the sustainability of its biomass energy production process through this standard.
CEGANOR has been the entity responsible for auditing the process, since it is the only Spanish company recognized and authorized by the Sure scheme to perform this service. The development of the certification audits had the express recognition of the verifier, who highlighted the high degree of implementation of the reference standard by Ence Huelva, the ability to anticipate the energy complex to the new European Directive, even meeting some requirements before its publication, and the sector leadership developed by Ence throughout the process.
Certification of the entire chain of suppliers in the province
Having already reached the milestone of certifying its own biomass and direct purchase, the company has begun to deploy an Advisory and Collaboration Plan with all suppliers of the Energy Complex in the province and neighboring countries, with the aim of ensuring that all agricultural biomass, forestry and industrial companies that supply the plants acquire this certification. To this end, work is already underway to launch the training, implementation and certification tasks of the entire chain of collaborators.
The adaptation to the Sure standard of Ence Huelva represents another step in the company’s forecast of completing the certification of all its own biomass and direct purchases consumed at its facilities before the end of the second half of the year. With this milestone, Ence continues the path that it began in 2017, when it released its Decalogue for the Sustainability of Biomass as Fuel, a pioneering initiative in Spanish companies, launched to guarantee total sustainability in the use of biomass and caring for the environment in its use as an energy source, relying on the criteria established by some of the most important environmental organizations in Europe.
Ence, which has three plants in Huelva with a total capacity of 137 MW, is the largest renewable energy generator with biomass in Spain, with a total installed capacity of 266 MW. The company acquires and values, annually, 1.7 million tons of biomass of local agricultural and forestry origin, which are used to generate renewable energy that is poured into the Network, thus contributing to reduce its environmental impact, solve problems in its management, and minimize the risk of fires.
