Red Eléctrica de España has inaugurated today, World Energy Efficiency Day, the Casaquemada Maintenance Centre, the first building of the Company to receive the Class B energy certification, the maximum that can be obtained for a facility purely taking into account energy-efficiency related construction criteria.

The Casaquemada centre is located next to the substation of the same name in the municipality of Sanlúcar la Mayor (Seville, Spain). This substation, contemplated in the Energy Transmission Infrastructure Planning 2008-2016, is a facility constructed for the evacuation of energy from the Solúcar thermosolar power station, owned by Abengoa, which currently operates at 183 megawatts and has a total capacity of 300 megawatts.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Director General of Industry, Energy and Mines of the Junta de Andalucía (Regional Government of Andalusia), Eva María Vázquez; the Mayor of Sanlúcar la Mayor, Juan Antonio Naranjo; the Director of Facilities Maintenance of Red Eléctrica, Eva Pagán, and the regional delegate of the company in Andalusia and Extremadura, Miguel González, together with other representatives from the energy sector.

The Casaquemada Maintenance Centre is a building for electricity transmission grid services in the provinces of Seville and Huelva. With a constructed surface area of 670 square metres, in which 15 people will work, will attend to the needs of the Guillena, Santiponce, Centenario, Aljarafe, Salteras and Casaquemada substations in the Seville area, as well as of the Palos, Colón, Onuba, Torrearenillas, Rocío and Puebla de Guzmán substations, all of which are in Huelva. It will be also a key element for the future planned infrastructures considered necessary to strengthen the grid, not only in the metropolitan ring of the Andalusian capital but also in the development of new lines and substations in Huelva.

Energy efficiency
A scale of seven energy ratings exists, (A, B, C, D, E, F, G) according to the emissions of kg/m2 of CO and kWh/year, that is emitted into the atmosphere as a result of the consumption for heating, refrigeration and hot water. The building of Casaquemada has been constructed with the following elements and materials:

• Insulation material on facades and covers, that helps to minimize energy loss, so that the cooling systems are seldom used
• North-South facing, so that daylight hours are taken full advantage of, thus reducing electricity use to the minimum
• Fitting of high energy efficiency cooling and lighting
• Solar collection system so that the electricity used for heating water is minimized
• Reduction of water consumption by means of a low-flow aerator system
• Charging points for electric vehicles

The Casaquemada building could have received a A Class rating if it had energy which was totally or partially self-supplied, but the standard that regulates the sector prohibits Red Eléctrica, in its role as operator of the Spanish electricity system, to generate energy. Therefore, based on the way the building was constructed, the certification received is the maximum that can possibly be obtained.