The project to install in Mercabarna the largest photovoltaic park in the Iberian Peninsula built on building roofs and intended for self-consumption is moving forward. The central market of Barcelona has just awarded the company Acelera Energía SCR the contract to install, maintain and operate for a period of 25 years the sustainable electricity production complex, which will cover the roofs of the warehouses that house the central fruit, fish and flower market, with a total area of 125,000 square meters.
Acelera Energía has prevailed over the offers presented by five other companies: the French group Engie; the Catalan construction company ACSA (a subsidiary of Grupo Sorigué); the Girona-based company Construcciones Rubau; the Lleida-based Atlas Energia, and the Galician company EiDF (Energía, Innovación y Desarrollo Fotovoltaico), although this last company was excluded from the tender for not reaching a sufficient score in the different evaluable criteria. None of the major Spanish energy groups submitted a bid.
According to the awarding committee, which had the technical advice of the company Aesa Energía, the offer presented by Acelera Energía SCR is the one that offers "the best value for money" and the one that has achieved the highest score, by obtaining 90.71 points out of 100, of which 80.71 points correspond to economic and automatic evaluation criteria, and 10 points to criteria evaluable by a value judgment.
Atlas Energía was the second best-ranked company, with 68.93 points; followed by Engie (66.42 points), Acssa-Sorigué (64.95 points) and Rubau (61.53 points). The winning proposal prevailed over the rest, especially, by offering a maximum sale price of generated energy of €49.79/MWh, compared to €58 for Atlas, €59.80 for Engie, €65 for Rubau and €60 for Sorigué. The tender specifications required not to exceed €70/MWh. In fact, this strong price difference in relation to the rest of the bidders (it represented a percentage reduction compared to the average of 14.92%) meant that, initially, the contracting committee considered that Acelera's offer was "presumed to be abnormal". However, after reviewing the proposal and all the supporting documentation provided, the consultant AESA Energía concluded that the offer was valid and not anomalous and that the bidding and subsequent awarding process could proceed.
Acelera Energía is a venture capital firm (SCR) registered with the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) and chaired by José Luis Morlanes, former general director of La Seda and RCD Espanyol. Morlanes, who began his career as a trade unionist, was also general secretary of the UGT in Baix Llobregat and president of the Comarcal Council of the same region, as well as councilor for Urban Planning in Cornellà. Currently, Morlanes is CEO of the chemical company Iqoxe and leads a group dedicated to the renewable energy sector that integrates different companies, such as Senergy, Apclen, Alter Enersun, Alterna Energía, Acelera Alternativas Energéticas and Enalter Renovables, with headquarters in Plaça Francesc Macià in Barcelona.
In 2021, Acelera Energía SCR was constituted with the objective of investing in the construction of self-consumption projects on public and private roofs; supplying renewable energy to companies and public institutions; investing in innovative companies in energy improvement, in electric charging point companies, and in installation companies, as stated in the informative brochure deposited with the CNMV. According to this documentation, investments will focus on Catalonia and a maximum of 70% stakes may be held in the companies in which it invests. The management company of this venture capital vehicle is GVC Gaesco.
Public-private joint venture
This private operator selected by Mercabarna must now constitute a newly created company, an SPV or special purpose vehicle in Anglo-Saxon commercial jargon, in which it will control 51% of the capital. The remaining 49% of the shareholding will be in the hands of Mercabarna itself and the Barcelona City Council, as Jordi Valls, general director of the food hub, announced a few months ago.
Specifically, the council will acquire 25% of the SPV's capital through the MES Barcelona fund, the mechanism created by the municipal corporation to accelerate the energy transition in the city and in which private companies also participate. Finally, Mercabarna will own the other 24% of the SPV, although half of this stake, i.e., 12% of the shares, could be transferred to market companies, either through the Guild of Wholesalers of the Central Fruit and Vegetable Market or the Association of Wholesaler Companies of Mercabarna (Assocome). Mercabarna will also have a preferential acquisition right over the 25% of MES Barcelona that it can exercise when this vehicle decides to divest from the company.
The SPV will have to pay rent to Mercabarna for the use of the roofs of public buildings and will have the capacity to incur debt, with a cap of 70% of the necessary resources. It is also expected to apply for European funds from the Next Generation program. Once constituted, this mixed-capital company will sign two contracts with the Barcelona central market: one for construction, i.e., for the installation and commissioning of the solar panels, and one for maintenance, management, and operation of the plant for 25 years. The SPV will adopt a governance model based on decision-making with reinforced majorities, so that the private operator will not be able to unilaterally impose its criteria.
It should be noted that the SPV will focus exclusively on installing solar roofs on buildings owned by Mercabarna, mainly the large warehouses that house the central fruit, fish, and flower markets, with a total area of 125,000 square meters. The three partners of the SPV will have to invest between 4 million and 5 million euros in this first phase of the project, which will start this 2023 and will generate 6.8 GWh of energy per year. All the energy generated will be sold to the stallholders of the central markets, who will have an alternative and more economical source of electricity supply.
Objective: generate 25% of annual consumption
In parallel, 100% of Mercabarna's wholesale companies have also committed to installing photovoltaic panels on their buildings, which occupy public plots, but which, unlike the central markets, are properties they own. Thus, in this so-called phase 2, which will extend until the end of 2025, an additional 235,000 square meters of solar panels will be promoted, with a generation capacity of 16 GWh per year. The estimated investment in this phase will exceed eight million euros. In this case, this budget will not be assumed by the SPV, but by each of the wholesalers. However, the mixed-capital company, taking advantage of its experience with the public sector, will be able to offer its services as an installation company, but each Mercabarna operator will be free to choose which installation company to contract in the market.
In total, the project, called RePowerMercabarna-Energía, will require an investment of 12 million euros and will allow Mercabarna to generate 25% of all its annual electricity consumption. The challenge is to reduce the energy costs of the wholesale companies operating in the market, since this self-generated renewable energy, in principle, will be cheaper than what they can freely buy in the electricity market.
Currently, in Mercabarna there are already several properties that have photovoltaic energy, with an installed capacity totaling 5 MWp and 32,000 m². With the project led by Acelera Energía, the power will increase to 18 MWp, with 360,000 m² of solar energy capture surface, which will reduce CO₂ emissions by 6,000 tons. Mercabarna's sustainability and energy transition plan also foresees launching, later on, an energy community, so that when all the panels are installed, an internal market can be established, allowing energy buying and selling between the different wholesale companies.