Ence Energia y Celulosa : provides a sustainable solution for the wine derivates of Castilla-La Mancha

The largest vineyard area in the world is in Castilla La Mancha, with some 470,000 hectares. The daily work of 85,000 winegrowers generates a large annual production of wines, and also of wine by-products, capable of being used as fuel of natural and renewable origin.

Ence, thanks to its Puertollano biomass renewable energy generation plant, provides a sustainable solution to the excess of these wine derivates, such as the pruning remains of the vine. A few months ago, the company launched the so-called 'Sarmiento Project', which has generated a value chain in those parts of the wine process beyond harvesting.

By using the remains of pruning of the vine as a renewable energy source, diffuse emissions are reduced by burning in the field, which generate a great environmental impact, while contributing wealth in rural areas.

The collaboration of farmers and their commitment to the environment is an example for the green recovery that our society faces after the health and economic crises. Pruning remains are a problem for many, who see burning branches a way to manage these derivates. Ence offers a solution that facilitates this task, avoiding uncontrolled burning, and recovering energy from biomass to produce renewable electricity.

The company maintains a firm commitment to excellence in sustainability in all its activity. In fact, Biollano 50MW, inaugurated last January in the city of Puertollano, is a clear example of a just transition towards a low-carbon energy model, in line with the Brussels guidelines and with Spanish energy policy. In Puertollano, Ence has replaced a fossil fuel-based power station with a renewable biomass energy plant that contributes to the decarbonisation of the national system.

The creation of economic activity in the region through the use and valorization of these derivates provides stable, sustainable and quality employment in rural areas, helping to sustain more than 1,300 direct, indirect and induced jobs, thus contributing to fix population in emptied Spain.

Finally, it should be underlined that all the biomass used in the Ence plants complies with the Decalogue for the Sustainability of Biomass as Fuel, a pioneering initiative in the Spanish company, which the company presented in 2017 and in which the commitment to sustainability in the use of biomass and care for the environment in the use of this renewable energy source.