Back- Marguerite acquires RCC to deliver a greenfield heating project
- Project developed by Rebi, Spain’s largest player in biomass district networks
- First investment under an agreement for the development of up to five urban
heating networks in the country - Project includes biomass-fired and thermosolar plant that will allow local residents
to switch from fossil fuels to a less polluting heating system
Luxembourg / Cuenca – 10/10/2022 – Marguerite II, a pan-European infrastructure fund, acquired a 100% stake in Red de Calor de Cuenca (RCC), a project company which will build, commercialise, and operate a greenfield heating network in the city of Cuenca in the Castilla La Mancha region in Spain.
The special purpose company RCC was recently set up by Recursos de la Biomasa, S.L. (Rebi) to develop and implement the Cuenca project and has now been purchased by Marguerite.
The deal is the first under a Framework Agreement signed between Marguerite and Rebi for developing up to five urban heating networks in Spain.
The project includes a biomass-fired thermal plant with a capacity of 28 MW (with the possibility to expand in future) and a thermosolar plant. Combined, the plants will deliver up to 100 GWh of heat annually to approximately 7,500 local households and public buildings through a system of pipes spanning 26 km under the city streets. The pipe network construction has already started, and the first customers will start receiving heat produced by the project this coming winter.
“The project will allow for an efficient supply of green heat, contribute to climate change mitigation and support the local economy,” said Pilar Gomez, Partner at Marguerite. “It perfectly aligns with our strategy of investing in sustainable infrastructure projects that contribute to reducing CO 2 emissions and promoting the circular economy. Rebi has significant experience sourcing, developing, and operating urban heating networks at optimal locations in Spain. We are excited about our future collaboration to build a portfolio of such projects,” she said.
Rebi will be responsible for the project’s delivery under a turnkey EPC contract and will also carry out the operation, maintenance, and technical and commercial management of the asset. The company is Spain’s largest and most experienced player in the development, design, construction and operation of biomass district heating networks. It is 100% owned by Amatex, a vertically integrated company involved in all activities from the purchase of forests to the supply of wood and biomass to the end customer, or the processing of the raw material for transformation into final products.
Rebi has successfully developed, built and operates several district heating networks, including Spain’s largest in Soria, Aranda del Duero and Guadalajara.
Rebi’s CEO, Alberto Gómez, expressed his satisfaction with reaching the agreement: “We are delighted about this collaboration. As the leading developer of sustainable urban heating networks,
Rebi brings its experience in the sector. We are sure that we will continue collaborating with Marguerite on many more projects. In Cuenca, the heat network will be built at the best time for
households and public administrations, enabling them to choose a sustainable heating system and become independent from fossil fuels such as fuel oil and natural gas. In the case of natural gas, the Cuenca Heating Network is a solution not only for the problem of high prices but also a reliable alternative addressing the issue of potential gas shortages on the market”.
A switch from fossil fuel
Cuenca is a mid-sized city in the centre of Spain with a population of 55k. Most households and public administration buildings use natural gas and fuel oil for heating purposes.
Following the project implementation, local residents will be able to switch from fossil fuels to a more sustainable and less polluting, centralised heating system powered with locally sourced waste
wood from forest cleaning and solar energy. The project will allow to reduce CO 2 emissions by approx. 25k tonnes per year and help bring down air pollution from NO x , SO 2 and particulate matter PM 10.
In addition to environmental benefits, the project will offer Cuenca residents the convenience of not having to maintain and operate a less efficient decentralised and often obsolete local heating system. The new system also means significant savings on energy bills without the need to incur any installation costs. Furthermore, the project will generate around 40 direct and indirect jobs in the city and the region.
Marguerite was advised by Pérez-Llorca (legal), Advisian (technical), Afry (commercial) and KPMG (tax and financial).