Last week, the EnerAgen Awards 2023 were held, recognizing the best performances of the year in favor of the energy transition.

The awards were presented on June 9th in Bilbao, thanks to the collaboration of the Basque Energy Agency and the sponsorship of Redeia.

The Spanish Association of Energy Management Agencies (EnerAgen) presented its National Energy Awards, which celebrated their fourteenth edition this year. The Jury, composed of five professionals from the public and private sectors who are experts in the energy industry, evaluated that the awarded projects address the challenges posed by the energy transition in key aspects such as renewables, energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, energy communities, and other fundamental aspects for the transition, such as the clear need to implement ambitious awareness and dissemination initiatives aimed at citizens.

The award in the Sustainable Mobility category this year went to the LIFE SMART AgroMobility project. The award was received by the University of Valladolid, a project partner, along with Copiso, who are key partners in this rural initiative. The project is coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Madrid and supported by the Regional Energy Agency of Castilla y León (EREN), with collaboration from other partners such as NTT Data, Gasnam, and the European Natural Gas Vehicles Association (NGVA).

This initiative aims to primarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the livestock sector through the production of biomethane for vehicle use and the generation of biofertilizers. This process allows for efficient management of the main by-product and emission source of pig farms: pig slurry.

The Spanish Association of Energy Management Agencies is currently the main coordination and cooperation instrument among energy agencies and public bodies operating at different territorial and jurisdictional levels in the national territory.

They have been celebrating their awards for 14 editions, which are a recognition of the evolution of the energy sector in Spain. This year, the jury included María Francisca Rivero, the Secretary-General of the Institute for Diversification and Energy Saving (IDAE); Juan Ávila, the Head of the Department of Social Innovation at Redeia; Víctor de la Peña Aranguren, Ph.D., Industrial Engineering Professor at the University of the Basque Country; Andrés Llombart, the CEO of the Research Centre for Energy Resources and Consumption (CIRCE); and Rubén Esteller, the Deputy Director of El Economista and Director of the Energy Magazine of this newspaper.