Wind Energy in Spain
2021 wind energy numbers
Renewable sources-based power supply in Spain reached 46.7% of total power consumption in 2021 (Total power demand increased by 2.5%).
Throughout 2021, wind power was Spain’s largest source of electricity generation, with a relative generation growth of 2.7 %. According to the Spanish National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030 (NECP), the government is committed to increasing the wind capacity to 50 GW, which means about 28.86 billion EUR (35.29 billion USD) to meet European targets for 2030.
The Spanish wind sector installed 842.61 MW during 2021. Wind power has become in Spain the number one technology (25.7 %) regarding installed power capacity on the Spanish peninsula. Spain was the number seven in Europe in new investments with 1.5 billion EUR (1.83 billion USD) investment decisions in new onshore wind farms.
The Spanish government approved the first Offshore Wind Roadmap in 2021. It aims to kick-start the deployment of offshore wind with a view to having up to 3 GW operating by 2030. Given Spain’s geography, it will all be floating offshore wind. Ports and shipyards across Spain already play a key role in the rest of Europe. The new Roadmap will stimulate the further development of Spain’s floating wind supply chain.
National investments for wind-related R&D totaled around 12 million EUR (16.56 million USD) in 2021.
To learn more about wind energy in Spain, please review their chapter in the IEA Wind TCP 2021 Annual Report.
National Targets
By the end of 2019, the Spanish government announced its final draft of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030 (NECP), raising the country’s ambitions for greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction to 23% compared to 1990 level and 28% renewables share through electrification and transport. That plan established that the combination of all renewables will amount to 120 GW by the end of 2030. This capacity will translate into 74% renewables share in electricity generation and 42% share of renewables in the final energy consumption.
This goal should set Spain on track to achieve a 90% reduction in gross GHG emissions compared to 1990 by 2050. By then, Spain´s power system is expected to operate on 100% renewable energy.
Progress & Operational Details
Spain installed 842.61 MW of new wind power capacity in 2021. These installations included 207 MW in Aragon, 116 MW in Castille and Leon, 139 MW in Asturias, 69 MW in Castille La Mancha, 28 MW in Galicia, and 43.5 MW in Andalusia, 7 MW in Navarra, and 69 MW in the Canary Islands.
Land-based wind power capacity increased from 842.61 MW to 28,157 MW in 2021, comprised of 1,298 wind farms, which include 21,574 wind turbines. The average rated power of the 2021 installed wind turbines was 5.43 MW. Wind-based electricity generation was responsible for 60.46 TWh p.a., representing 23.6 % of total electricity generation (which experimented with an increase of 2.5 %). Wind-based electrical generation increased by 1.2 % and became the largest source of electricity generation in Spain for the first time.
National RDD Priorities and Budget
In approved with the main objective of doubling the amount of public and private investment in RD&D to 2.12% of GDP by 2027.
The Spanish government considers wind energy a national priority. R&D activities primarily focus on land-based applications: increasing O&M cost competitiveness, extension-of-life strategies for wind farms, optimised manufacturing process, etc. Offshore wind R&D activities are increasing, especially for floating applications. National investments in wind energy R&D amounted to nearly 12 million EUR (16.56 million USD) in 2021. This budget is significantly lower than the previous years.