New methodology for the remuneration of biomass cogeneration

The Third Vice President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen Muñoz, signed on October 27 Order TED/1152/2026, which modifies the methodology for updating the operating remuneration of generation facilities whose operating costs depend essentially on the price of fuel. The regulation is published in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) no. 272, of November 2, 2026, with the reference BOE-A-2026-22888, and enters into force the day following its publication.

Operating remuneration is the supplement with which the specific remuneration regime covers the operating costs that the sale of energy in the market does not remunerate. Its periodic update is provided for in article 14.4 of Law 24/2013, of December 26, on the Electricity Sector, and in article 20.3 of Royal Decree 413/2014, of June 6. The current methodology is Order TED/526/2024, of May 31, which replaced Order IET/1345/2015, of July 2.

The mandate for this regulation comes from article 5.9 of Royal Decree-Law 6/2022, of March 29, which requires considering the joint evolution of market revenues and the costs of fuel and CO2 emission rights. The preamble places the measure within the framework of the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2023-2030, which includes an action to promote 1,200 MW of high-efficiency cogeneration.

A specific equation for biomass cogeneration

The core of the order is the introduction of a new article 12 bis in Order TED/526/2024, dedicated to biomass cogeneration. Until now, the methodology of article 12 did not distinguish between biomass facilities for electricity generation only and those for cogeneration, meaning it did not assign the costs and revenues that characterize the latter.

The new article applies to the type of cogeneration facilities included in article 2.c) that have obtained the right to receive the specific remuneration regime after the order entered into force. The quarterly remuneration is obtained by subtracting market revenues and costs avoided by electric self-consumption, heat, and non-electric revenues from the estimated costs—fuel, operation and maintenance, and tax on the value of production.

The technical parameters set by the regulation are:

• Lower heating value of biomass b.6: 3.490 MWhLHV/t.
• Lower heating value of biomass b.8: 3.630 MWhLHV/t.
• Zero remuneration when the result of the equation is less than zero.

Quarterly review without a prior Treasury report

The order rewrites Article 3 of Order TED/526/2024 to anchor the quarterly periodicity in Article 44.5 of Royal Decree-Law 8/2023, of December 27. The updated values will be approved by resolution of the holder of the Secretary of State for Energy and will be applicable from the 1st day of the first month of the corresponding calendar quarter.

The procedural change is relevant: the prior report process from the Ministry of Finance disappears, replaced by the obligation of prior communication. The preamble justifies this on the grounds that the approval follows a detailed methodology that adheres exclusively to the provisions of the order.

Quarterly publication of cash flows

Article 13.2 is rewritten to publish quarterly, along with the updated remuneration values, the cash flows associated with each type of installation. If the remuneration is positive, the flow is equivalent to its value with a negative sign; if it is zero or negative, it is calculated with all the costs and revenues of the equation, without the electricity tax increase factor.

Processing and institutional guarantees

• Government Delegated Commission for Economic Affairs: authorized the minister to issue the order on October 26, 2026.
• Council of State: prior opinion.
• National Commission on Markets and Competition: report in accordance with Article 5.2 a) of Law 3/2013.
• Electricity Advisory Council of the CNMC: hearing process for the representatives of the autonomous communities.

The regulation affects the profitability of cogeneration plants and the electricity bill, because the remuneration for operation is financed by system charges and because the quarterly review more rapidly transfers the evolution of gas, CO2, and the electricity market. For investors, the text provides a specific methodology for biomass cogeneration and a quarterly update calendar anchored in a regulation with the rank of royal decree-law.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 272, of November 2, 2026, Sec. I. General provisions, page 146327 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-22888).