The Spanish ministry for the ecological transition on Wednesday launched a tender process to offer grid access for 1,202 MW of renewable energy projects that would settle in the region of Aragon in an area affected by the closure of a coal-fired power plant.

Interested bidders are invited to compete for access capacity at the 400-kV Mudejar node, which was freed up when Spanish utility Endesa SA (BME:ELE) shut down its Andorra-Teruel power plant, and contribute to the job recovery in 34 affected municipalities.

The available capacity at Mudejar is 1,302 MW, but the ministry decided to reserve 100 MW for small-scale renewable energy installations that can be hooked to the distribution network from there, it said in its order published in Spain’s official state gazette.

According to the order, favourable socio-economic impact of the proposed project will carry more weight in the evaluation process. Bidders can accumulate up to 55 points if their project creates more direct and indirect jobs, includes women and surplus workers from the closed coal-fired plant, and spends more hours in training the unemployed on how to install, operate and maintain a renewable energy plant.

For technical aspects of the generation project, a proposal can win up to 20 points, maturity of the project can get a maximum score of 15 points, while a minimised environmental impact is worth up to ten points.

After winning, bidders will follow the usual procedure to secure permits for their projects.