Spain hits 44.7% renewables share in 7-mo 2020

The Cruz de Carrutero wind farm in Palencia, Spain. Image by Iberdrola (www.iberdrola.com)

Renewables reached a share of 44.7% in electricity generation in Spain in the first seven months of 2020, a new report by Spanish grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE) shows.

In July, the contribution of renewables was 37.9%, down from 43.9% in June and 52.5% in May. There was a significant increase in generation by combined-cycle gas turbines last month and these accounted for the biggest share of power production.

The share of different energy sources in the power generation mix is visible in the table.

Energy source	7-mo 2020	July 2020
Wind	20.8%	17.1%
Solar	8.4%	11.4%
Hydro	13.6%	7.7%
Nuclear	21.9%	21.4%
Combined-cycle gas	16.6%	26.9%
Coal	2.4%	1.3%

REE said that electricity demand is gradually recovering after the easing of the lockdown restrictions. In July, the power consumption in Spain stood at 23.3 TWh, down by 4.8% from July 2019 when the figures are adjusted for calendar and temperature effects. For the full seven months, demand was down 7.6% year-on-year to 143.5 TWh.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) parks in Spain produced 1.9 TWh in July, a new monthly record and a 90% increase on the year. Wind farms generated 4.1 TWh, up by 19.8% from July 2019.

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