- The Minister for Sustainability of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, called the facility "another commitment to environmental protection"
- The new plant entailed a 2.5 million euro investment and, together with measures implemented over the last three years, will enable a 53% saving in water
The event was attended by the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy of the Junta de Andalucía, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, in addition to the general secretary of the area María del Mar Plaza Yélamos; the territorial representative of the branch Óscar Curtido; and the subdelegate of the Junta de Andalucía in the Campo de Gibraltar Javier Rodríguez Ros. The Deputy Mayor María Collado and the councilors of Environment and Urbanism, Juan Serván and Alfonso Valdivia, respectively, participated on behalf of the San Roque City Council.
The Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, emphasized on Wednesday that Cepa's new water treatment and reuse plant is "an example of circular economy and another commitment by the company to environmental protection." During the opening ceremony of the new water treatment plant and the visit to the San Roque Energy Park facilities, the Minister of Sustainability noted that "these facilities are another step in Andalusian industry's adaptation to climate change." He highlighted how the industrial center measures its carbon footprint and works to reduce it. "So once again it is shown that it is possible to apply the circular economy and environmental sustainability to the business reality of Andalusia," he added.
The wastewater reuse plant is part of Cepsa's commitment to the circular economy and the measures taken as part of the BRIO innovation program (internal management program on operational excellence), which identifies water-saving measures and other efficiency measures in the industrial facilities of its energy parks. The water treated at this plant will be adequate for reuse in the power plant’s cooling towers and entailed an initial investment of 2.5 million euros.
The director of the San Roque Energy Park, Rosendo Rivero, has highlighted that this new plant is a show of "our commitment to environmental protection, the circular economy, and the optimization of natural resources. Saving water and improving the way that we manage it is a priority for all of us making up the San Roque Energy Park, where we are aware that it is a valuable and scarce resource. We will continue to work along these lines.”
It was also noted at the meeting that a project is underway to reduce by more than 90% the emission of particles through the chimney of the Park's FCC unit, with a start-up date scheduled for March.
Agreement for the use of wastewater
In addition, Cepsa and the public company Aguas y Servicios del Campo de Gibraltar (Arcgisa) of the Campo de Gibraltar Association of Municipalities have signed an agreement so that the San Roque Energy Park can supply its operations with recycled water from the urban runoff of Los Barrios and San Roque.
The treatment and purification of urban water for industrial use will be carried out in the new wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) that the Association of Municipalities and Arcgisa plan to build on land near the Energy Park facilities, which was ceded by Cepsa to the City of San Roque years ago. This new facility in Campo de Gibraltar will have tertiary treatment for wastewater from the municipalities, which will amount to 4.2 million m3/year and will no longer be disposed of, instead being reused by Cepsa in its facilities. This amount of water is equivalent to the consumption of a municipality of approximately 35,000 inhabitants for an entire year.
The wastewater will be recycled and reused for Cepsa's industrial use, which will significantly reduce the current water consumption managed by the Department of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy of the Regional Government of Andalusia and will also enable the future Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley to be developed with the minimum possible water input.
As part of its transformation plan, Cepsa has set itself the goal of reducing freshwater withdrawal in water-stressed areas by 20% by 2025, compared to its use in 2019, one of the most ambitious commitments in the energy sector on an international scale.
