Spain produces 37% of power from renewables in Aug

Nunez de Balboa solar park at sunset. Image by Iberdrola (www.iberdrola.com)

Spain produced 37% of its electricity from renewable energy sources in August, Spanish grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE) said in the latest estimates report.

In July, the share of renewables in Spain’s total power production was 37.6%.

One third of Spain’s power came from combined-cycle gas plants, according to REE’s August data. Due to the lack of rainfall, hydroelectric plants generated 1,036 GWh, which was the lowest production output since 1992, the grid operator said.

Production from wind and solar farms rose compared August last year.

Production details for selected technologies are presented in the table:

Technology:	Share in August:	Estimated production (in GWh):	y/y change:	January-August share:
Wind	16.0%	4,064	8.5%	21.1%
Hydro	4.1%	1,036	-44.9%	6.4%
Solar PV	12.5%	3,188	33.3%	10.9%
Solar CSP	2.6%	655	-0.9%	1.8%
Other renewables	1.5%	388	-5.5%	1.7%
Nuclear	20.2%	5,127	-0.5%	20.2%
Cogeneration	3.1%	794	-62.3%	7.2%
Combined cycle	33.0%	8,396	107.4%	23.9%
Coal	3.2%	825	158.1%	3.1%

Demand for electricity in August was estimated at 22,077 GWh, up by 0.1% year-on-year in gross terms. When labour patterns and temperatures are taken into account, the nation’s demand was lower by 2.3%.

On the Spanish mainland, gross demand was estimated at 20,534 GWh, a decrease of 0.6% compared to the year-ago period. Adjusted for seasonality and temperatures, the mainland demand fell by 3.2% on the year.

On the Balearic Islands, gross demand came at 730,434 MWh, up by 15.5%, while on the Canary Islands, demand rose by 6.4% to 772,644 MWh.

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