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Energy Security in Andalusia: The Role of Renewable Energy Sources

Kaveh Bekhrad, Alireza Aslani, Tania Mazzuca-Sobczuk

PII: S2666-0164(19)30001-5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscee.2019.100001
Reference: CSCEE 100001

To appear in: Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering

Received Date: 18 July 2019

Revised Date: 16 September 2019
Accepted Date: 1 October 2019

Please cite this article as: K. Bekhrad, A. Aslani, T. Mazzuca-Sobczuk, Energy Security in Andalusia:
The Role of Renewable Energy Sources, Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscee.2019.100001.

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 Energy Security in Andalusia: The Role of Renewable Energy Sources

Kaveh Bekhrad1, Alireza Aslani1,*, Tania Mazzuca-Sobczuk2

(1)
Department of Renewable Energy and Environment, Faculty of New Sciences and Technologies, University of
Tehran, Iran
(2)
Department of Chemical Engineering, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (CeiA3), University of
Almería, Almería, Spain
* Corresponding author: alireza.aslani@ut.ac.ir
Abstract
Energy supply security and environmental issues have been among the major concerns for most governments.
Recently, thanks to technological breakthroughs, utilization of renewable energy(RE) sources is frequently
suggested as a solution for declining energy dependency of countries and tackling environmental concerns.
Andalusia is one of the fast-growing autonomous communities of Spain in terms of economic, industry, and
population. While Andalusia has a high dependency on energy imports, it is the wealthiest autonomous community
of Spain from the perspective of RE resources. This research tries to evaluate Andalusia’s RE potential and its
impact on the security of energy supply. First, the current energy system of Andalusia is discussed, and the
feasibility of RE sources is investigated. Finally, the total level of Andalusia’s energy security is calculated and
compared with other countries. The results reveal that solar, on/off-shore wind, and bio-energy (algae production)
are the most promising RE sources. Therefore, to elevate Andalusia's energy system robustness, it is highly
recommended to invest in noted RE resources.
Keywords: Andalusia, Energy Security, Affordability, Reliability, Sustainability

1. Introduction
Nowadays, the ascending growth of energy consumption, high fluctuations in fossil fuels price, interruptions in
energy import and export, global warming and environmental hazards are just a few of numerous concerns related to
the energy security in countries all around the world. Sovacool and Mukherjee (2010) researched to provide a
framework which could be used to analyze national energy security policies. This paper suggests that energy
security includes five dimensions which are availability, affordability, sustainability, technology development, and
regulation. Afterward, 20 factors related to these dimensions were proposed to assess the security of an energy
system[1].In another research conducted by Mammadli, the barriers toward the development of common external
energy policy among the European Union is discussed. Moreover, energy alternatives are suggested to achieve more
diversification of energy supply in the EU, and different strategies are provided in this research[2].
Many types of research have been conducted focusing on the factors affecting the security of an energy system.
Kruyt et al., an overview of available indicators related to the long-term security of energy supply is provided. [3].
The future of energy security in EU-27 and Europe was studied in research conducted by Umbach in 2008[4]. In
research conducted by Aslani et al. in 2012, the role of renewable energies in diversification of energy sources in
Nordic countries was studied [5]. Other related research can be found in [6, 7, and 8]. Considering noted studies,
growing the share of RE sources alongside supportive incentives, regulations, and policies seem to be a promising
solution to overcome concerns related to energy supply security.
The aim of our work is to evaluate the energy security of Andalusia-an autonomous region in Spain. Among all
autonomous communities within Spain, Andalusia is one of the most promising ones for utilization of RE sources.
That is due to the geographical location of this region which provides it with plenty of solar radiation, on/offshore
wind power, and significant access to bio-energy sources. Also, it has high dependence on energy import. The
novelty of this research is adding sustainability as an aspect of the energy security of energy systems. Also, the
comparison conducted between the countries with the same economic situation could provide a broad view and
essential data for all players in energy security discipline to understand the bottlenecks in energy systems security.

1
Finally, the analysis of energy system in Andalusia from security and resiliency issues has been assessed for the first
time in the current form.
This paper is organized in five Section. In the 1st section, previous researches and the aim of this paper is provided.
The 2nd section provides an overall view of Andalusia. In this section, the energy system of Andalusia will be
presented and discussed. Also, policies related to the utilization of renewable energy sources will be addressed.
Furthermore, this section is devoted to the potential of different RE sources in Andalusia. Various aspects of systems
energy security and related indicators will be noted in the 3rd section. In the 4th section, the observed indicators will
be studied for Andalusia and some similar economies. This section helps to acquire a proper overview of the energy
security of Andalusia. The final section(5th section) tries to provide some suggestions to improve the energy security
of this community.

2. Overview of Cases study, Andalusia

In 2018, Andalusia was ranked as the 3rd and 11th autonomous community based on the annual GDP and annual
GDP growth, respectively[9]. Although based on the historical background of Andalusia, this autonomous state is
well known as an agricultural region; the service sector is dominant at the moment. Despite this fact, the primary
sector is still important. The primary sector includes agriculture, forestry, energy, commercial fishing, mining,
animal husbandry, and hunting. According to reports, 8.19% of the regional workforce is employed in this sector.
Besides, 8.26% of local GDP is produced by primary sector[10].
Considering the industrial sector, it is not developed as much as other parts of Spain. Nonetheless, this sector
employed around 290 thousand workforces in 2007. In the same year, the industry sector earned 11.98 million euros
which are equal to 9.15% of regional GDP[14]. During recent decades, the service sector of Andalusia has overtaken
other sectors and became the main resource of regional income. With regards to local reports, the share of this sector
in the regional GDP increased from 51.1% to 67.9% between 1975 and 2007. In the same period, the share of the
service sector in local employment changed from 40.8% to 66.42%[11].
Figure1 shows the energy consumption in each sector in Ansalusia [12]. It is also notable that the total energy
consumption had a descending trend from 13559 ktoe in 2010 to 12276 ktoe in 2016. At the same time,
transportation and industry were predominant sectors in energy consumption. Energy consumption of the service
sector remained approximately consistent, and the primary sector had the least use [12].

16000
Primary Industry Transport Services Residencial
14000
Energy Consumption(ktoe)

12000

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Year

Fig.1. Final energy consumption of different sectors between 2010 and 2016 in Andalusia[12].

Considering the energy supply routes in Andalusia, this autonomous community is mostly providing energy demand
by energy imports. Andalusia imports coal, crude oil, natural gas, and electric power and the only energy export of
this state is through biomass sources. Figure 2, shows the reference energy flow diagram of Andalusia and the share
of each sector in supply, conversion, and consumption.

2
 3.8
St atistical Differences Bunkers 1245.1
1452.5
Industry
387.8
281.7 21.1
648.7
401.1
Coal and Derivatives
Net Exchange 1761.1 4396.3
(Import-Export) 2039.1
5.4
3.7
1102.1 Power Station 1662.0 180.8 Tramsport ation
3406.8 1750.3
Oil and Derivat ives 18.2
Net Exchange 11010.9
(Import-Export)
72.7 32.2
Self-Product ion
Natural Gas 6.3
668
Power Station 459.2
341.2
Production
102.9
Net Exchange 4132.2 274.0 Residencial
(Import-Export) 324.3 324.3 1134.5
2535.2 Refineries 2520.3

Renewable Energies
3582.4
Product ion 615.4
1158.7
536.7 164.7
801.3 801.3 Energy Sector
Exchange and Transfer 11.1 24.0
Consumption Primary
243.2
134.3

Heat 0

36.9
Electricity 114.9
Net Exchange 591.2 79.4 Services
(Import-Export) 915.5

84.7
0.7 419

Net Exchange Losses

(Import-Export)

Fig.2. Energy stream diagram of Andalusia in 2017[13].

There have been many energy planning projects such as Energy Plan for Andalusia 2003-2006(PLEAN), Andalusia
Energy Sustainability Plan 2007-2013, and the Energy Strategy of Andalusia 2020. The end of the validity of the
previous Energy Plan for Andalusia led to the approval of the Energy Strategy of Andalusia 2020 by the Governing
Council of the Andalusia Regional Government on 27 October 2015. This strategy includes the preparation of
different sectors and groups which are involved or interested in the energy sector[23]. The implementation of the
Energy Strategy of Andalusia 2020 will be conducted by Action Plan, 2016-2017 consists of 117 actions[14].
2.1. Potentials of Renewable Energy in Andalusia
Based on provided data by the Energy Agency of Andalusia, in 2016, renewable energy resources supplied around
19% of total primary energy supply[15]. In the same year, these energy sources formed 8% of total final energy
consumption[16]. Combination of energy sources in primary energy supply and final energy consumption is
provided in Fig. 4.a and Fig. 4.b respectively.
Considering Fig. 3, it could be noticed that although coal is among the primary energy sources, in the final
consumption stage, there is no trace of this energy carrier. Furthermore, the higher share of electricity in the final
energy consumption(compared with the energy supply mixture), is due to energy conversion in the electricity
production industry.

3
 3% 11%
19% 23%

8%

23% 44% 54%

15%

Coal Oil Natural Gas Renewable Electricity Oil Natural Gas Renewable Electricity

a. b.
Fig. 3. The share of energy sources in Primary Energy Supply (diagram a.) and Final Energy Consumption (diagram
b.)[15, 16].

3. Methodology
In this research, energy security variables of Andalusia are compared with Spain, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
and Slovenia. This comparison will be carried out to understand the situation of Andalusia energy system from
energy security point of view. These countries are chosen based on the similarity of their GDP per capita to
Andalusia.
The Diversification of Energy Supply Sources (DESS) could be calculated using Equation 1. This indicator
illustrates the diversification of energy sources in an energy system. In this equation, “ai” stands for the share of
energy source “i” in total energy supply and “n” represents the number of energy sources[5].
∑
 a
× Lna

DESS = −  
Lnn
(Eq.1)

To estimate the Net Import Dependency (NID), Equation 2 could be implemented. This parameter takes the role of
both diversification and imports of energy sources into account. In this equation, “mi” stands for the import share of
energy source “i”[17].

∑
1 − m
 × a
× Lna

Lnn
NID = 1 −
(Eq.2)
DESS

The resilience of an energy system could be determined by dividing the total reserves of coal, oil, gas, and uranium
by final energy consumption. All indicators that have been used to assess energy security are provided in Table 1.
Table 1. Energy Security Indicators used for the research
Aspect Indicator
Reliability
Grid Efficiency (%)
DEES
1/NID
Resilience (Year)

4
 Affordability
1/Gasoline Price (Lit/Euro)
1/Electricity Price (kWh/Euro)
GDP/Energy Use (mil US $/ktoe)
Energy Use/Pop (toe/Capita)
Sustainability
RE/TPES (%)
RE/TFEC (%)
Pop/CO2 (t CO2/Capita)
GDP/CO2(US $/kg)

4. Results and Discussion

Table 2 provides the normalized values of all 12 energy security variables for noted countries.
Table 2 Normalized Energy Security values for selected countries in 2017.
Aspect Parameter Andalusia Spain Estonia Latvia Lithuania Poland Slovenia
Reliability
Grid Efficiency 0.48 0.74 0.95 0.77 0.00 1.00 0.92
DEES 0.82 1.00 0.00 0.39 0.35 0.38 0.83
1/NID 0.00 0.00 0.39 0.52 0.44 0.76 1.00
Resilience 0.98 0.97 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.84 1.00
Affordability
1/Gasoline Price 0.05 0.14 0.00 0.33 1.00 1.00 0.05
1/Electricity Price 0.00 0.00 0.92 0.48 1.00 0.73 0.50
GDP/Energy Use 0.58 1.00 0.00 0.28 0.23 0.19 0.41
Energy use/Pop 0.02 0.20 1.00 0.00 0.16 0.16 0.52
Sustainability
RE/TPES 0.33 0.15 0.29 1.00 0.36 0.00 0.25
RE/TFEC 0.09 0.00 0.55 1.00 0.26 0.12 0.31
Pop/CO2 0.58 0.50 0.00 1.00 0.93 0.24 0.36
GDP/CO2(US $/kg) 1.00 0.88 0.00 0.53 0.53 0.09 0.47

Figure 4 shows the result of the research. We can find that the energy system of Andalusia has above-average
reliability among studied countries, which suggests the priority of investment in this aspect. Considering the
affordability of energy among selected countries, Andalusia has relatively low energy affordability. This issue could
be handled by using renewable energy technologies to generate electricity at a lower price. Also, the utilization of
renewable energies could lead to distributed electricity generation which will increase the accessibility of energy and
increases energy security.

5
 1.00

0.90

0.80

0.70

0.60

0.50

0.40

0.30

0.20

0.10

0.00
Reliability Affordability Sustainability Total Energy Security
Slovenia Poland Spain Andalusia Latvia Estonia Lithuania Geometric Mean

Fig.4. Comparison between reliability, affordability, sustainability, and total energy security of selected countries.

Moving to affordability, Fig. 4 suggests that energy is generally less affordable in Andalusia than other assessed
countries. This could be due to the low income of individuals in this region or the relatively high price of energy
carriers in this autonomous community.
Considering the final aspect of energy security(Sustainability), as it is evident in Fig. 17, although Latvia’s energy
system is far more sustainable than other studied communities, Andalusia still has an above-average sustainable
energy system. As it is indicated in Fig. 4, compared with selected countries, Andalusia has relatively low total
energy security, which again points toward the importance of investment in renewable energy sources utilization.
The priority for policy-making and investments in Andalusia should address Affordability, Reliability, and
Sustainability barriers respectively. Providing long-term governmental loans with low or no rate of interest could be
an effective incentive to increase the utilization of renewable energy sources in Andalusia. Also, holding workshops
by NGOs and governmental organizations alongside university degrees and courses related to RE discipline will
increase the awareness level of public about REs advantages which will eventually elevate the share of renewable
energy sources. Also, it could be helpful to facilitate the technology transfer process for technologies related to
renewable energies.

5. Conclusion
This work discussed how the utilization of renewable energy sources could elevate the energy security of
Andalusia(one of Spain’s autonomous regions). First, previous studies related to the different aspects and indicators
of energy security were provided. Afterward, a general review of Andalusia’s present energy system was presented.
Subsequently, the approved energy policies of this region were pointed out and the compliance of these strategies
with Energy Union was investigated. Later, the potential of different renewable energy sources in Andalusia was
studied. Which suggested that Andalusia has a promising potential in solar, wind, and bioenergy sources. In the next
part, six countries were selected(based on GDP per capita) to be compared with Andalusia in terms of energy
security. For each of these countries, indicators related to three main dimensions of energy security(Reliability,
Affordability, and Sustainability) were extracted. By using plotted diagrams, the total energy security of studied
economies was detected.
Based on the results of this research, considering the potential of renewable energy sources in Andalusia and the
current situation of Andalusia energy system, guiding investments towards solar, wind and bioenergy (mainly algae

6
production) technologies could be a reasonable choice. To improve the energy security of this region, the priority of
policymakers should be devoted to manners which will enhance the Affordability, Reliability, and Sustainability of
the energy system of Andalusia.
Some solutions that could be effective in the way of achieving higher energy security in Andalusia could be:

• Long-term with low-interest rate governmental loans for the development of RE technologies
• Encouraging and holding public workshops and events (by both government and NGOs) to elevate the
public awareness about RE
• Applying supportive regulations to ease the RE technology transfer process through specialized global tech
brokers
• Providing academic courses and university degrees with particular focus on RE technologies to provide
required specialists in this field
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4.Umbach, F., Global energy security and the implications for the EU. Energy Policy, 2010. 38(3): p. 1229-1240.

5.Aslani, A., E. Antila, and K.-F.V. Wong, Comparative analysis of energy security in the Nordic countries: The role of
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6.García-Gusano, D. and D. Iribarren, Prospective energy security scenarios in Spain: The future role of renewable power
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http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/institutodeestadisticaycartografia/dtbas/dtb07/ingles/idtb2007.pdf.

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http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/institutodeestadisticaycartografia/iea/detalleDatosDia.jsp?cod=43265&ram=D.

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