Spain closes 2021 with 46.6% renewables share

A wind farm in the Monegros portfolio. Image courtesy of PEAK Wind.

Spain’s power plants produced 46.6% of the nation’s electricity with renewable sources in 2021, Spanish grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE) said in its latest estimates report.

This percentage compares to a 44% renewables share in 2020 and 37.5% in 2019, REE said.

Last year, wind farms were Spain’s largest producers of not just renewable power, but of all power, outstripping nuclear, combined cycle and cogeneration plants.

Wind also dominated Spain’s power mix in December 2021, when renewables achieved a 46.2% share in the total electricity production. During the month, renewables produced 11,053 GWh, down by 7.5% year-on-year.

More details follow in the table below:

Technology:	Share in December:	Estimated production in GWh:	y/y change:	Share in 2021:
Wind	28.8%	6,884	-7.5%	23.3%
Hydro	10.5%	2,503	-21.6%	11.4%
Solar PV	4.3%	1,018	37%	8.0%
Solar CSP	0.5%	114	49.6%	1.8%
Other renewables	1.9%	450	6.3%	1.8%
Nuclear	16.4%	3,932	-25.4%	20.8%
Cogeneration	9.2%	2,197	-6.7%	10.0%
Combined cycle	21.9%	5,240	72.4%	17.2%
Coal	3.0%	723	140.9%	1.9%

Spain’s demand for electricity for the whole of 2021 was estimated to stand at 256,462 GWh, up by 2.6% compared to 2020, but lower by 3.1% than in 2019.

In December, demand fell by 1.7% year-over-year to 22,049 GWh.

The evolution of the electricity demand across Spain’s major territories as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed can be seen in the table below:

Territory:	Estimated demand - December 2021:	vs December 2020	vs December 2019	Jan-Dec 2021	y/y change:
Mainland Spain	20,846 GWh	-2.1%	-1.1%	242,455 GWh	+2.4%
Balearic Islands	436,735 MWh	-0.1%	+2.6%	5,527,335 MWh	+11.9%
Canary Islands	731,981 MWh	+10%	-2.2%	8,075,627 MWh	+1.6%