Interview with Francisco Villalobos, general manager in Dalkia Spain

What is involved in the new Dalkia project at Camilo José Cela University in Madrid?

It involves the energy management of the Campus that the SEK Institution runs in Villafranca Del Castillo (Madrid), which includes the SEK University, SEK El Castillo College and the SEK CLUB.
Dalkia will be managing the entire power consumption, including heating and cooling, at the Campus, thus guaranteeing the comfort of users of the facilities and generating energy bill savings.


In addition, Dalkia will be making the necessary investments to improve the facilities by building a biomass heating network to supply heat to campus buildings as well as implementing thermal and lighting energy efficiency measures in the facilities at the complex.

 

The SEK institution’s energy and maintenance bills will be reduced by 8.5% from the start of the contract, a saving which will increase over the 12 years of the contract due to the use of price-stable energy such as biomass and the elimination of consumption of fossil fuels such as diesel and LPG. Additionally, all the SEK institution’s production equipment will be modernised, reducing its CO2 emissions by 20%.

 

What advantages does the use of biomass offer over other types of renewable energy?

Biomass, unlike solar or wind power, is a manageable energy, meaning its use is not dependent on weather conditions, which is very important when it serves as the primary energy in a heat production project.

 

Biomass also generates local employment and population stability in rural areas.


Biofuel prices remain stable compared to fossil fuels since production is national and is not subject to geopolitical tensions.

 

What other projects does Dalkia currently have underway in Spain?

Dalkia is involved in the competitive dialogue phase for the biomass heating network at the University of Valladolid, the competitive dialogue phase for the energy management of hospitals in Murcia, and the development of various biomass heating networks in building complexes throughout Spain which currently have diesel facilities, as well as many energy efficiency projects in buildings using different technical solutions, all of which generate energy savings for our customers.

 

How many employees does Dalkia have in its Spanish operation? Since when has Dalkia been operating in Spain?

Currently Dalkia has a turnover of more than EUR 270 million in Spain and has more than 2,700 employees spread across all its national offices.

 

Dalkia has had a presence in Spain for over 45 years.