SEMI: firmly committed to clean energies

Eduardo Porras-SEMI-energia

The Director of SEMI‘s Renewable Energy Division, Eduardo Porras Fernández, talks about the progress of the company in this field and its achievements, “we want to contribute to the expansion of clean energies, with turnkey proposals and advanced solutions”

EfikosNews: Renewable energies are increasingly gaining weight in the energy mix. How does the business sector contribute to their development?

Eduardo Porras Fernández: The implementation of electricity generation through different renewable energy sources is an important goal at national and international level. The European Union is working to obtain, by 2020, 20% of primary energy from these sources.

To achieve this goal, collaboration among public authorities, institutions and companies is needed. The function of companies in the sector, SEMI among them, is to provide innovative solutions and new technological developments to improve the profitability and efficiency of renewable energies. In this sense, companies make the most out of natural resources and contribute to a more sustainable future.

EfikosNews: Which are SEMI’s most relevant contributions in terms of renewable energies? How is your company involved in such areas as solar thermal power?

Eduardo Porras Fernández: Firstly, SEMI has incorporated renewable sources to its business line as a specialization area in its energy division. The company has participated in many large-scale solar thermal projects. Up to now, the experience in general has been very rewarding, having contributed without experience, know-how and expertise.

SEMI, together with the rest of the sector, has contributed to establish important milestones that have positioned our country at the forefront of such technologies as those related to solar thermal power. Some examples are the company’s initiatives of the solar thermal power stations Manchasol I and II. SEMI was responsible for the execution of the 220 KV and 45 km evacuation line.

Statistics also prove that this is an international growing area, with great perspectives for companies like SEMI. According to the business association Protermosolar, 82% of the solar thermal power installed in the world, 2,580 MW in 2012, carries the “brand Spain”. Spanish companies are participating in 64% of solar thermal projects currently being promoted or under construction around the world. They are also positioned in such markets as the US, South Africa, Morocco, Abu Dhabi, where power stations with an activity volume of 10,000 million Euros are being constructed.

EfikosNews: Apart from the solar thermal power projects, what else could be highlighted from SEMI in the field of wind power?

Eduardo Porras Fernández: Wind power in Spain plays an important role regarding sustainable electricity generation. It is also called to play an important role in the future, as stated in the latest report issued by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), which highlights that its world capacity will be doubled to 536 GW by 2017.

SEMI’s Renewable Energy Division is actively working in this field to commercialize the best solutions and provide specialized services for its fast implementation.

A clear example is the Huéneja wind farm, in Almería (Spain), where SEMI has been in charge of executing the civil works, roads, foundations, and the supply and installation of medium-voltage electric infrastructure and optical fiber. This turnkey project also installed 49 wind turbines in four wind farms: Las Lomillas, Tres Villas, Loma de Ayala and Los Jarales.

Our objective is to export the experience gained in the development of this type of wind farms in our country, and to expand our position in the many international projects in which the Spanish industry has become a point of reference for its technological advances and specialization.

EfikosNews: Your Company is also participating in innovative projects such as solar PV greenhouse facilities. An advance with many advantages for the agriculture sector, right?

Eduardo Porras Fernández: The application of renewable energies in greenhouses has many advantages. PV power, for example, is a complementary energy production mode that can serve to supply the different systems needed for its operation.

SEMI has already developed relevant projects such as PV installation in greenhouses, in the municipality of Giave, in Italy, for ENERVITABIO. It is a 40,537.8m2 area with 12 horizontal modules on a fixed structure. In this way, PV solar power is applied to areas where it is rarely used.

EfikosNews: What are the future prospects of SEMI’s Renewable Energy Division regarding new challenges and objectives?

Eduardo Porras Fernández: Our next step is to continue growing abroad. SEMI’S internationalization policy is firmly committed to emerging countries, such as those in South America, with a great number of ongoing investments and programs boosting renewable energies. In addition, we want to contribute to the expansion of clean energies with turnkey proposals and advanced solutions, in other growing areas such as Asia, and northern Africa. The future of SEMI will be connected to the progress of this type of energies to achieve, among other a sustainable, free-emission and environmentally-friendly future.

*About SEMI

Created in 1919, SEMI is a leading company in the electric and industrial sector. Its name is synonymous with tradition, experience, and future. Currently under international expansion, the company is known for the versatility typical in SMEs, the infrastructure of a large-scale company, and the financial support of a consolidated firm. SEMI, part of the sector companies in the ACS Group Industrial Services, is a prestigious company with its know-how as an added value.