CENER: working for sustainable energy Navarra, Spain SYNTHESIS The National Renewable Energies Centre (CENER) is an industrial technology centre dedicated to the research, development and promotion of renewable energy in Spain. Its purpose is to identify, generate, disseminate and transfer scientific-technical knowledge and value-added services to the renewable energy sector. This is done by collaborating with companies, institutions and official organisations to promote the development of renewable energies on a national level and also contributes to advancing this sector to an outstanding position in the world. The goal is it to become Spain's industrial reference centre for renewable energies and one of the leading centres in Europe. CENER was set up as a foundation called the CENER-CIEMAT Foundation led by a Board of Trustees. The decision to create the centre as a private entity, although the paying members or trustees are all public entities, is the most innovative element in the CENER experience. This model provides CENER with management systems similar to those in private companies giving it independence and ensuring greater flexibility as regards both economic and human resources. CENER offers the renewable energy sector a wide range of human resource and technical capabilities, together with testing facilities and advanced laboratories. In addition to providing services, CENER also carries out research and development (R&D) projects under contract or in collaboration with other national institutions in the areas of photovoltaic solar, wind, biomass, solar and thermal energy, and bioclimatic architecture as well as in the field of hydrogen and power electronics. The centre provides support for R&D and brings innovation to firms by delivering technological services acting as a consultant and running contract R&D projects. The idea of creating a national centre for renewable energies was an initiative of the regional government of Navarra and grew out of the region’s existing strength in this field. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) contributed a share of the initial funding, to complement the financial support of the Spanish and regional authorities, through the Objective 2 programme for the region of Navarra. The region is the leader in renewable energies on a national level, thus the objective of creating a national centre was to consolidate the region's expertise nationally and internationally. From the outset, a key objective was to obtain a high degree of self-sufficiency financially through focusing on economically profitable activities and services, and to reach sales figures of €3m by 2004. The centre fulfilled the objective of sales figures by 2004, and the remaining objectives have been met by 2007. Revenue from contract R&D and services amounts to some 60% of an annual budget of €12m. CENER is now a renowned centre in Spain and has gained European recognition having been awarded Best Regional Renewable Energy Partnership in the EU in 2003 in the framework of the European Commission’s Campaign for Take-Off.1 The centre has carried out work in various European countries as well as in China, the Dominican Republic and

2

Tunisia. The R&D activities today represent between 30-40% of the global activities of CENER. CENER also issues ENAC (the National Accreditation Body)2 accreditation certifications in various fields such as, photovoltaic modules and components, for field tests in the wind generator test laboratory as well as for thermal collectors in the centre’s homologation lab. CENER also issues standard certification of wind generators in Spain through a collaboration agreement with the multinational independent product certification body Det Norske Veritas3. A new test centre for certification of wind turbine rotor blades is under construction. In this context, it should be noted that CENER was a well-timed effort as renewable energies had experienced a much stronger growth than predicted in the years following setting up of the centre. Background information Country: Spain Region: Navarra Project title: The National Renewable Energies Centre (CENER) Key words: renewable energies; research activities and infrastructures; transfer of

technology Duration of project: 2000 – 2006 Funding: Total budget €46.44m

ERDF contribution €2.8m National budget €28.1m Regional budget €15.54m

ERDF Objective: Objective 2

1 http://ec.europa.eu/energy/idae_site/index.html 2 http://www.enac.es 3 http://www.dnvcert.com/

3

1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The objective of CENER is to identify, generate, disseminate and transfer scientific-technical knowledge and value-added services to the renewable energy sector through collaborating with companies, institutions and official organisations. The centre offers human resource and technical capabilities to the sector, together with testing facilities and advanced laboratories. CENER also carries out research and development (R&D) projects under contract or in collaboration with other organisations and institutions. CENER is established as a foundation (“CENER-CIEMAT Foundation”). Its mission is to: - provide support for R&D activity of firms by rendering technological services, R&D

projects under contract and in a consulting capacity; - develop production technology and exploit energy sources through research and

development; and - facilitate the penetration of renewable energy sources in the energy system by

generating the necessary tools and services to provide solutions to technical problems. CENER initially structured its activities in four departments: Photovoltaic Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Biomass Energy and Bioclimatic Architecture. Since then, another two technical departments have been set up, namely, the Hydrogen and Power Electronics laboratory and Solar Thermal Energy. The Photovoltaic Solar Energy Department participates in R&D projects and provides services to industries and individuals in the areas of photovoltaic systems and cells. The applied research projects are generally conducted in coordination with companies that are able to utilise the results of R&D and to implement it industrially. The Department undertakes also basic research projects. It also collaborates in international projects sponsored by AECI (the Spanish Government’s Agency for International Cooperation) and in initiatives of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Wind Energy Department offers three services: a wind generator test laboratory, a wind generator analysis and design, and assessment and prediction of wind. The department provides services and develops new technologies to promote and improve the competitiveness of the Spanish wind sector with clients including the major agents in the sector (promoters, manufacturers, certification authorities, financial institutions, users, associations and administrative bodies). Research projects are carried out internally and in cooperation with technological centres, institutions and companies. The centre participates in national and international standardisation and regulatory development working groups. The Biomass Energy Department is divided into working groups engaged in R&D projects and activities in thermal and electric applications and bio-fuels. The department offers services to private industry, operators and promoters of biomass plants, public institutions, local authorities and autonomous communities. The activities cover the all aspects involved in the transformation of biomass and agricultural waste into energy, from the assessment and characterisation of resources through to energy-generating technologies. The Bioclimatic Architecture Department is divided into two research groups: 1) integration of renewable energies in building, and 2) energy simulation and analysis. The

4

department works with architects, engineering offices and building promoters, complementing their skills with advice on energy-saving practices in buildings, bioclimatic building solutions and systems, energy efficient materials, integration of renewable systems in buildings and optimisation of devices and systems for climate control and natural lighting. The Solar Thermal Energy Department, (recently developed out of the Bio-climatic Architecture Department), is dedicated to thermal performance testing of liquid heating collectors, and also R&D activities and development of models and tools for the design of solar thermal collectors and solar thermal power plans. The Electronics and Energy Accumulation Laboratory acts as a support network to the other technical departments, solving problems that are common to the different renewable energy exploitation methods. The external activities of the department include providing services and developing new technologies in the areas of energy accumulation, grids and high voltage, and power electronics. In 2005, the total value of contracts signed by CENER was €4.6m, of which contracts with the public sector amounted to 14% whereas contracts with companies from the renewable energy sector represented share of 86%. This percentage was the same as the year before, when the total value of contracts signed was €3.9m. The centre thus fulfilled the sales figures objective set by the strategic plan. The annual budget was €12m, with some 60% being self-financed (R&D contracts with companies, national or European research programmes). The remaining part consists of subsidies from the national and regional administrations, and from CIEMAT (the public Research Agency for Energy and Environment under the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science)4. The breakdown of contracts by departments was the following: Department 2004 2005 Photovoltaic 11% 17% Wind 65% 23% Biomass 13% 16% Bioclimatic architecture 9% 21% Electronic laboratory 2% 23%

All the departments’ activities are based on the needs of firms within the sector and on the technological trends analysed in the strategic plan. Direct beneficiaries are the regional and national companies in the renewable energy sector. The region of Navarra, as a whole indirectly benefits from the project, as pointed out by regional government officials. According to the government sources, CENER has contributed to job creation, a better regional economic balance and decreased levels of CO2 emissions. It is, however, difficult to ascertain to what extent these effects can actually be attributed to CENER as there are no specific studies corroborating these statements. CENER is now a renowned centre in Spain and has gained European recognition having been awarded Best Regional Renewable Energy Partnership in EU in 2003 in the

5

framework of the European Commission’s Campaign for Take-Off.5 The centre has carried out work in different European countries as well as on other continents. For example, the CENER acted as a consultant and helped to write the new national legislation on renewable energies for the Dominican Republic. Based on the work in the Dominican Republic, Chile and Argentina have asked the centre to do the same for these countries. CENER has also carried out consultancy work in Tunisia and China. CENER has a wind generator test laboratory, a laboratory for the certification of photovoltaic modules and components and a thermal collector homologation lab. All three labs have received accreditation from the Spanish accreditation body (ENAC) as a test laboratory to perform different field tests. CENER also, signed a collaboration agreement with the multinational independent product certification body Det Norske Veritas in 2004 for the standard certification of wind generators in Spain. The expected impact of the project is that the region of Navarra will consolidate its position as a national leader in renewable energies, and also become an established player on the EU scene. 2. POLITICAL AND STRATEGIC CONTEXT Navarra is a small region by Spanish standards with some 600,000 inhabitants in a country with a population of approximately 43 million inhabitants. Its gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is considerably higher than the Spanish average, and is 120% of the EU25 average GDP per capita rate. Unemployment in 2004 stood at 4.7% compared to the national rate of 10.9%. The region spends 1.7% of its GDP on R&D, which places it in second place in Spain after Madrid. The current R&D plan of Navarra aims to reach the objective of 3% by 2010. The commitment to renewable energies in Navarra began in the early 1990s, with the focus on wind energy. A private company EHN (now Acciona Energìa), dedicated mainly to hydroelectric power, realised that other sources of energy were needed as a complement to traditional energy sources and it looked primarily at wind power. This was in line with the intentions of the Government of Navarra who made a strong commitment to renewable energies. SODENA (the Navarra’s Business Development Agency)6 also participated actively in the design of the concept for CENER and the regional government considered this development to be a great business opportunity for companies in the region. The idea to create a national centre for renewable energies in Navarra grew out of the region’s strength in this area. At this time the region was already the leader in renewable energies on a national level. By 2002, Navarra had already reached the EU goal for renewable sources as a share of energy production was by then was close to 16%) Apart from the approximately 1100 wind energy plants at 34 different locations, the region has 110 hydroelectric mini power plants, combined heat and power plants, one plant each for biomass and biodiesel as well as several solar cell plants.

4 http://www.ciemat.es 5 http://ec.europa.eu/energy/idae_site/index.html 6 http://www.sodena.com

6

Setting up a national centre in Navarra was to give the region a further boost to consolidate its position as a national leader. The Navarra Government presented the idea to the Spanish Minister of Industry and Education, and received permission to begin the project with the condition that it was conceived as a national centre rather than a regional initiative. The origins of CENER come from an initiative of the Government of Navarra, the Ministry of Science and Technology and CIEMAT. The latter provided its knowledge in basic research, and CENER further develops this knowledge in a more flexible way. The setting up of CENER was included in the region’s first Technology Plan (2000-2003), which focused on promoting research, technological development and innovation and knowledge transfer to the companies of the region. The second plan (2004-2007) continues with a similar focus, with the ambition of taking advantage of the investments in technology infrastructure carried out in the first plan. CENER is mentioned as one example in this context. 3. IMPLEMENTATION 3.1. Project design and planning

CENER began its internal organisational activities in February 2002. The first strategic plan for CENER was produced four months later and covered the period until the end of 2004. The plan was based on interviews with twenty companies and institutions in the sector, a benchmarking study of Spanish technological centres, existing market studies and an analysis of public programmes and R&D trends in Spain and other countries. The strategic plan defined a number of goals to be reached by the end of that period:

- to have a “significant presence” in the fields of wind energy, biomass energy, photovoltaic solar energy, bioclimatic architecture and other renewable energy sources of increased interest;

- to be a “reference centre” in Spain in the renewable energies sector; - to have an international presence; - develop R&D activities of a “certain weight” in the global activities of the centre; - to obtain all necessary homologations and certifications; - to be actively present in relevant institutions and organs; - to sign collaboration agreements with other relevant technology centres and

universities; - to sign collaboration agreements with relevant clients; - to obtain a high degree of self-funding through providing economically profitable

activities and services; - to reach sales figures of €3m in 2004. A SWOT analysis carried out as part of the strategic plan pointed to the collaboration with the public research agency for energy and environment, CIEMAT, as strategically important. All activities at CENER are the result of contacts with firms within the sector and based on the analysis of the technological trends included in the strategic plan. The plan suggested that the resources of CENER needed to be complemented through collaboration with other organisations. It was considered critical to establish strategic

7

collaboration agreements with client companies and with other technology centres and universities. The plan identified four levels of collaboration entities, in order of priority: 1) CIEMAT; 2) members of the Board of Trustees (including institutions and associations linked to these, the public University of Navarra, Cetenasa etc.); 3) other universities and technological centres and 4) clients (most notably private companies). The funding of CENER was established through a four-year agreement between the Government of Navarra, the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and CIEMAT. With this agreement, the signing parties committed themselves to annually fund the centre from 2000-2003 with the following amounts:

- Government of Navarra: €2,404,048 - CIEMAT: €1,202,024 - Ministry of Education and Science: €601,012 Implicitly, the idea behind the agreement was that once CENER was up and running, it would obtain higher levels of self-funding through services and R&D contracts with companies and also through participating in national and European R&D programmes. This strategic plan was the blueprint for the activities of CENER. The CENER project was not, however, based on any further needs assessment research or analysis. Everyone involved was convinced of the opportunity the region had to assert itself as national leader in this area, and also of the need to act fast to take advantage of a developing trend. The technical director points out, however, that a study carried out at that time would not have been able to foresee the enormous strength of the interest in renewable energies that was to come. Nonetheless, it has to be emphasised that no specific aspects regarding the evaluation of the project were taken on board from the beginning. The strategic plan is presently undergoing a revision process. 3.2. Management, Monitoring and Evaluation System The CENER-Ciemat Foundation is a private law entity, although all the trustees are public. CENER has two main managing bodies: the board of trustees and the management committee. The board of trustees of the CENER-CIEMAT Foundation is a strategic partnership endorsing strategic decisions and the budget. The management committee consists of three members from the Government of Navarra and two from CIEMAT. It supervises and endorses issues of minor strategic importance and prepares the issues for the board of trustees meetings. At the beginning of operations of CENER, meetings were held monthly or every second month, but now, as the centre has found an operational rhythm, meetings are held four to five times a year. The Government of Navarra holds the chairmanship of both the board and the management committee. CENER is not constrained by public administration procedure in management and contracting issues, but maintains principles of openness and transparency in all its decisions and operations. It was the Government of Navarra that led the process of selecting the general manager, a decision that was approved by the board of trustees. The selection process was carried out on the basis of professional competence and with help of a recruitment agency. Employees are a multidisciplinary technical team ranging from experienced qualified experts in the exploitation of natural resources to young researchers.

8

The board of trustees annually sets certain strategic objectives for the centre, as well as goals for sales and turnover figures. CENER has established internal procedures monitoring the achievement of these objectives, which is carried out annually by the management committee and the board of trustees. The companies and clients are not members of the board of trustees. CENER carries out a market analysis each time a project is started, and the relevant companies of the sector are consulted about the opportunity of the initiative. These new activities normally originate from internal proposals in CENER, although this new endeavour may be motivated by explicit sector needs. The market analysis consists of estimating the potential of the activity, in terms of R&D work it could generate and technological services. Establishing a “CENER Forum” made up of companies is currently under consideration with the objective to increase awareness and to act as a consultative body to CENER. As far as scientific relevance and quality is concerned, an international scientific advisory board has been set up. 3.3. Governance: Partnership and Leadership The board of trustees consists of 15 members: the Government of Navarra (seven representatives), the Ministry of Education and Science (3), CIEMAT (3), Fundaciòn CETENA7, a foundation belonging to the Multidisciplinary Centre of Innovation and Technology of Navarra (1), and the public University of Navarra (1). The Region of Navarra offered a very strong political support throughout the duration of the project. Although the CIEMAT as well as the Ministry of Education and Science both have provided economic resources to the centre, it is the Government of Navarra that has done so to a larger degree than any other entity. The Government of Navarra has a 37% share of the Foundation, CIEMAT - 27%, Ministry of Education and Science - 18%, CETENA - 9%, and the public University of Navarra - 9%. The technical director of CENER states “the support from the regional and national administrations has been sufficient to guarantee the success of this initiative”. While the government plays key role in driving the initiative politically, the CIEMAT was a key actor in terms of providing specialised expertise and knowledge, most notably at the beginning of the CENER project. At that time, CIEMAT had already almost 20 years of experience in undertaking R&D in the field of renewable energies. CENER undertakes its activities in an open and transparent way. Extensive client satisfaction surveys are implemented with an aim to give the centre accurate knowledge of what the clients’ opinions are regarding the centre’s operations technical quality, customer service, prices and time limits – not only in absolute terms but also in comparison with the competition. Also, an external audit of the management of the centre has recently been carried out with very good results.

9

3.4. Innovative Elements and Novel Approaches to Implementation The partners in the CENER project were already leaders in the developing renewable energies sector in Navarra. However, the decision to create a new entity, a national centre, was the first of this kind in the region. The most innovative element in the CENER experience was the decision to create it as a private law foundation, although the paying members or trustees are public entities. This decision was taken by the founders of the centre on the initiative of the Government of Navarra. This model means CENER has management systems similar to those in private companies and ensures greater flexibility regarding both economic and human resources, which makes it possible for CENER to respond efficiently to the increasing demands from industry. Although the private sector is not represented in the foundation, companies are consulted on a regular basis to establish the focus of future projects for the centre. According to its technical director, this approach, in combination with CENER’s own knowledge of the sector, ensures that the centre is dedicated to satisfying needs of the companies. The diffusion of a “new energy culture” has been a prominent feature of the overall work on and implementation of the Navarra Energy Plan, a new culture whose aim is to change life and consumer habits towards levels of increased responsibility (preventing superfluous energy consumption, trying to achieve clean, collective transportation etc.). The ambition was to be in constant contact with society and to assure maximum participation of different players in society. Surveys, discussion tables and other communication and information dissemination activities have created social awareness for implementation. The diagram below describes this process.

Initial information was obtained from industry, transport, agriculture, services and the consumer sectors, through surveys and interviews. This led to suggestions for improvement gathered in round-table discussions with participation from all of the above- 7 http://vigilanciatecnologica.cetenasa.es

10

mentioned sectors. These round-tables were also involved in drafting and implementing the Energy Plan. The results of these actions have been to determine the current situation in each sector, the degree of penetration of renewable energies and degree of implementation of measures for energy-saving and efficient use of energy. With this knowledge, CENER can decide in which area of the sector to participate and also, decide if it will use it in making a draft of the Energy Plan. The round-tables that were set up as a result of this research led to an implementation timescale, barrier detection, an analysis of alternatives and opportunities, prioritization of actions, and, finally, an agreement on objectives. This line of work has been continued in the drafting of the second regional energy plan 2005-2010. These results were then contrasted with expert opinions. The experts came from CENER itself, the Ministry of Industry, the IDAE (Institute of Energy Diversification and Saving) and the European Commission’s Directorate-General Transport and Energy. In this way, this process also had a direct impact on CENER. 3.5. Key Implementation Obstacles and Problem-Solving Practices The foundation of CENER was accomplished in a short period of time and there were no real obstacles in its implementation. The technical director of CENER mentioned the slow pace of the decision-making processes in the public administration as the biggest obstacle, but taking into consideration the relative swiftness of the setting-up, in the end this was not a major problem. 4. INNOVATION RESULTS CENER offers human and technical capabilities to renewable energy sector, test means and advanced laboratories. The centre provides support for R&D and innovation in firms by delivering technological services and running R&D projects in a consulting capacity. Thus, CENER helps facilitate maximum penetration of renewable energies in the energy system. The following are selected examples of CENER’s services: - The service for analysis and design of wind generators provides the wind energy sector

with technological support in the development of more efficient wind generators. This service covers knowledge areas such as mechanical-structural, aerodynamics, control, and manufacturing materials and processes.

- The wind resources assessment and prediction activities provides the wind energy sector with services that enable them to characterise the wind resource, both for the installation of new wind farms and to predict the energy production of operating farms.

- In the biodiesel field, CENER performs different technical services which, depending on the needs, are aimed at providing a critical review and optimisation of production processes or providing assistance in the start-up of production plants.

11

5. SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSFERABILITY 5.1. Sustainability

Currently, the CENER project continues without ERDF funding. This was clearly an objective from the beginning and the centre’s dual strategic ambition to diversify its customer portfolio and search for strategic, long-term collaboration agreements with public bodies is the vehicle to guarantee CENER’s continued existence and increasing relevance. Some 60-70% of the budget is funded by contract research for companies and national and European research programmes' grants obtained in competitive biddings. The rest is covered by subsidies from the regional and national administrations and CIEMAT.

Regional and national funding continues to be fundamental for the centre and the agreements with these authorities cover the needs that are not satisfied by incomes from technological services to companies. The Government of Navarra and the national Spanish Government have actively supported the creation and development of CENER contributing with grants on a project basis in competitive public project calls and through non-competitive grants to projects of specific interest to the public administration. The latter grants have been given outside the framework of the project as additional funding for other initiatives. In 2006 Spanish Ministry of Science and Education reached an agreement with the Government of Navarra. Navarra's government will spend €6.72m in areas described in the agreement and €8.82m in specific activities designed for the region. Likewise, the Ministry provided the CENER-CIEMAT with loans equivalent to €26.9m with a repayment period of 15 years and no payment of principal in the first three years. Also, CIEMAT provides the centre with a subsidy of €1.2m. This agreement ends in 2007, but CENER expects that negotiations between the two administrations, for 2008 agreement, will start soon. Expansion to other markets is a clear part of the strategy. Apart from different collaborations in Europe, the centre now works or has carried out activities in several other continents. The sustainability can also be seen in the development of its installations. In January 2007, CENER started up the Photovoltaic Process Characterization and Photovoltaic Material Laboratory in Pamplona. The activities of the Wind Turbine Test Laboratory in Sanguesa in the south of Navarra began in May 2007. The cost of this centre (€48m) is financed through the agreement between the Government of Navarra and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education. Navarra has provided their part of the funding through subsidies, whereas the Ministry of Science and Education provides loans together with a small subsidy to CIEMAT. According to the Managing Director of CENER, they have assumed this potentially risky project after consultations with companies, with the knowledge that they have clients behind to make it feasible. With this new development, CENER will have one of the most comprehensive infrastructures in the world. 5.2. Transferability

CENER is the first centre of its kind in Spain dedicated to renewable energies and has become a point of reference for other regions of the country. According to CENER General Manager, before CENER there was hardly anything in Spain related to renewable energies. Moreover, the management model with a private law entity that was introduced could serve as an example for other regions. Theoretically, the model of the centre could be simulated under the same conditions that favoured the development of CENER, that is a

12

market-driven need and a strong commitment from the public administrations supporting the centre. 6. CONCLUSIONS: MAIN SUCCESS FACTORS

Strong political backing The Government of Navarra and the Spanish Government have been key players in making CENER possible. The Government of Navarra has the specific goal of consolidating and diversifying the use of renewable energies as a key component of auto-supply in the region. The same applies for the national government. Also, the regional government received support from the central one in setting up CENER as a national centre. The status of foundation The construction of a private law foundation consisting of public entities ensures greater flexibility and speed in decision-making. Dialogue with society Surveys, suggestions and discussion tables have created social awareness for implementation. The diffusion of a “new energy culture” has been successful in the sense that there are hardly any local protests at all against the installation of new wind energy plants. This is not entirely CENER’s doing, of course, but it has helped to prepare the ground for the centre. Besides these, there are also other factors that were of key importance for the project during its final stages, or after its completion. Private and public collaboration According to CENER and Government of Navarra sources the success of CENER derives from its Trustees’ commitment to achieving a high level of self-funding and extending the scope of its activities nationwide. The relevant companies of the sector are consulted about the opportunity of the initiative each time an activity of relevance is started. The scope of action should not be limited to the expectations at the outset! Renewable energies have experienced an enormous growth in these last few years, and this has been much stronger than anyone expected. Even though it could be argued that a clearer set of measurable goals could have been set up for CENER when it started, this, at the same time, gave the centre a certain freedom to act.

13

PROJECT CONTACT DETAILS Contact person Name: Juan Ormazabal Position: Director General Organisation: CENER Address: C/ Ciudad de la innovación

31621 Sarriguren Navarra

Telephone: +34 948252800 Project’s website: http://www.cener.com/index91b0.html The information contained in this case study is up to date as of: September 2007 This case study has been prepared by Tommy Jansson in the framework of a study carried out by Technopolis Group on behalf of the European Commission. The contents and views expressed in this case study are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the European Commission.