The project to convert group 2 of the Aboño coal-fired power plant into a gas-fired plant has been given the green light without the need for an ordinary environmental impact assessment. This planning will allow EDP and Corporación Masaveu to start work immediately and complete the conversion of Asturias’ main power plant by July 2025.
Aboño Coal-Fired Power Plant Authorized
The Ministry for Ecological Transition issued a resolution determining that “an ordinary environmental impact assessment is not necessary” for the Aboño conversion project. Instead, a simplified assessment, which is a less exhaustive procedure with shorter deadlines, has been considered sufficient.
This decision is decisive for EDP and Masaveu to meet the tight schedule they have announced, because the transformation of the Aboño thermal group is expected to be a reality in July 2025. This would allow EDP to bring forward its goal of abandoning coal-fired production by the end of the same year.
The future conversion to gas will improve the conditions of this facility, which is vital for the performance of the electricity supply of the Asturian industry. The planned investment amounts to almost 40 million euros. After the conversion, the plant will have an installed capacity of 494 MW and will reduce virtually 100% of particulate matter and sulfur oxides emissions, 80% of nitrogen oxides and 30% of current CO₂ emissions.
Circular economy among alternative resources
Last February, EDP and Corporación Masaveu had awarded the conversion works to the Asturian industrial engineering company Duro Felguera. Field work will be concentrated in 2025, especially from March onwards, when Aboño group 2 will make a strategic stop to undergo a general overhaul.
When it resumes operations in July, the group will operate using natural gas and, subsequently, hydrogen produced at the planned Aboño plant, as well as steel gases from ArcelorMittal in Gijón. This characteristic has made the plant an example of circular economy since its inception, avoiding the emission of one million tons of CO₂ annually.
The conversion of Aboño group 2 will involve the installation of new equipment and the adaptation of the boiler, as well as systems and infrastructures, taking advantage of existing equipment. In addition, a new pipeline will need to be constructed to supply natural gas to the facility.
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Source and photo: EDP
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