Spain's renewables share drops to 42.5% in Aug

The Puertollano 2 solar park. Source: Renovalia Energy Group

The share of renewables in Spain’s power production in August dropped to 42.5% from 46.1% in July, Spanish grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE) said in its latest estimates report.

The nation’s plants generated 9,231 GWh of “green power”, up 7.7% year-on-year, but below the output of 10,411 GWh that was estimated in July.

A snapshot of Spain’s power mix in August is presented in the table below:

Technology:	Share in August:	Estimated production in August (in GWh):	Y/Y change:	January-August combined share:
Wind	17.1%	3,719	1.2%	23.0%
Hydro	8.7%	1,891	0.3%	13.7%
Solar PV	11.0%	2,391	31.6%	8.6%
Solar CSP	3.3%	719	-3.5%	2.2%
Other renewables	2.0%	423	14.8%	1.8%
Nuclear	23.7%	5,153	0.0%	21.5%
Cogeneration	9.9%	2,153	-1.9%	10.2%
Combined cycle	18.8%	4,076	-26.3%	13.8%
Coal	1.5%	326	-3.3%	1.6%

4,076

Spain’s demand for electricity was estimated at 22,250 GWh in August, an increase of just 0.9% year-on-year, but down 2.4% compared with August of 2019, when there was no pandemic to modify power consumption habits.

REE has again given three sets of figures to illustrate differences in power demand across Spain in periods before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as presented in the table below:

Territory:	Estimated demand in August 2021	vs August 2020	vs August 2019
Mainland Spain	20,836.6 GWh	+0.5%	-2%
Balearic Islands	630,347 MWh	+11.3%	-11%
Canary Islands	743,841 MWh	+4.4%	-5.6%