Share of Renewables in Spain’s Power Mix Jumps to Over 50%

Renewables made up 50.8% of Spain’s electricity mix this year, rising from a 42.2% share last year, Energy Transition Minister Teresa Ribera said on Tuesday.  

More than half of the electricity Spain now consumes comes from renewable energy sources, the minister said, adding that total renewable generation topped 135,000 GWh this year, up from 116,695 GWh in 2022.

As early as in June, analysts at Rystad Energy forecast that Spain was on track to generate more than half of its power from renewable sources this year. Spain has made substantial investments in solar and wind capacity over the last 10 years, while hydropower, which used to be Spain's largest source of renewable energy, accounts for approximately 10% of its total generation today.  

Spain has outpaced its European counterparts in the deployment of solar and wind power capacity, securing second position in onshore wind installations. Although Germany maintains dominance in solar and onshore wind, “Spain's trajectory in solar and wind energy exhibits remarkable growth prospects for the coming years,” Rystad Energy said.

Germany, for its part, also reached the 50% renewable electricity milestone this year, according to preliminary estimates from industry groups.

Renewable energy sources accounted for nearly 52% of Germany’s gross electricity consumption this year, making up more than half of the country’s power generation and power consumption for the first time ever, the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research, ZSW, and the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, BDEW, said earlier this week.

The share of renewable energy sources in Germany’s gross electricity generation reached almost 53% this year, compared to 44% last year, the associations said.

“Many people once believed that renewables only accounted for a single-digit share of electricity consumption, but today we use more electricity from renewable sources than from conventional sources and have our sights firmly set on 100 percent renewables,” said Kerstin Andreae, Chairwoman of the BDEW Executive Board.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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