Hot June weather pushes Spain's renewables share down to 39.2%

Author: Gianluca Di natale. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

The renewables share in Spain’s total power production plunged to 39.2% in June, after a heat wave that tore through much of the country triggered more use of conventional generation plants to power air conditioners.

The renewables share was 49.8% in May.

Wind farms were Spain’s top electricity producers for the past three consecutive months, but in June their share in the power mix fell to just 15.7%, according to preliminary figures released by Spanish grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE). At the same time, production from coal-fired and combined cycle gas power plants increased significantly.

Figures are available in the table below:

Technology:	Share in June:	Estimated production (in GWh):	y/y change:	January-June share:
Wind	15.7%	3,662	-0.5%	22.7%
Hydro	5.1%	1,193	-45.3	7.3%
Solar PV	13.6%	3,172	36.5%	10.2%
Solar CSP	2.5%	592	-9.7%	1.6%
Other renewables	1.8%	424	18.5%	1.8%
Nuclear	19.2%	4,475	21.5%	20.4%
Cogeneration	6.4%	1,502	-31.3%	8.5%
Combined cycle	28.5%	6,633	81.5%	20.7%
Coal	3.6%	846	78.5%	3%

Spain’s demand for power rose by 2.8% year-on-year to an estimated 21,306 GWh.

On the mainland, demand was estimated at 19,991 GWh, up by 2% compared to June 2021. On the Balearic Islands, demand climbed by 25.1% to 574,887 MWh, while in the Canary Islands system, demand rose by 11.2% to 706,641 MWh, REE said.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!