Spain Generated 3% of its Electricity from Solar in 2010

Despite the solar fallout, Spanish solar systems are delivering billions of kilowatt-hours to the country. Wind power is now bigger than hydro and coal in the country.

Paul Gipe, Contributor
January 28, 2011 | 5 Comments

Red Electrica reported this week that Spain generated nearly 3% of its electricity from solar energy in 2010.

Despite withering criticism of Spain's once-thriving solar industry, projects installed during the boom years of 2007 and 2008 are producing commercial quantities of electricity.

The network operator's preliminary report on 2010 says that solar energy produced 6.9 TWh last year from 4,000 MW of generating capacity, mostly solar photovoltaics (PV), for 2.7% of supply.

Wind turbines generated nearly 43 TWh in 2010 for 16.4% of supply, slightly more than hydroelectricity. Spain's hydro plants produced more electricity last year, 38 TWh, than anytime since 1997.

The new renewables of wind and solar in combination provided 19% of supply.

Together both new and conventional renewables delivered 34% of Spain's electricity.

Spain's climate, geography, and population are similar to that of California. Spain's 46 million inhabitants consume some 260 TWh per year.

California's 37 million people consume about 300 TWh per year. However, wind energy generates less than 6 TWh per year and solar less than 1 TWh per year. Together wind and solar provide only 2% of California's electricity.

5 Comments

a b
February 1, 2011

" Andrew_W : As usual you fail to mention the cost of these renewables. But, I understand your need to serve as cheerleaders."

how are your shares of peabody coal doing ?

http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/1939739/braces-gust-wind-power-2011

27 Jan 2011 - US braced for gust of wind power in 2011. Elizabeth Salerno, AWEA director of industry data and analysis, added that electricity generated by wind is now cost-competitive with natural gas.
"Wind's costs have dropped over the past two years, with power purchase agreements being signed in the range of five or six cents per kilowatt hour recently," Salerno said. "With uncertainty around natural gas and power prices as the economy recovers, wind's long-term price stability is even more valued. We expect that utilities will move to lock in more wind contracts, given the cost-competitive nature of wind in today's market."
"Our industry continues to endure a boom-bust cycle because of the lack of long-term, predictable federal policies, in contrast to the permanent entitlements that fossil fuels have enjoyed for 90 years or more," said Denise Bode, chief executive of AWEA.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/10/fossil-fuels-subsidies-more-than-doubles-those-for-renewables

US Fossil Fuel Subsidies More Than Double Those for Renewables. More than half the subsidies for renewables—$16.8 billion—are attributable to corn-based ethanol. Of the fossil fuel subsidies, $70.2 billion went to traditional sources—such as coal and oil—and $2.3 billion went to carbon capture and storage.

Andrew W
January 31, 2011

As usual you fail to mention the cost of these renewables. But, I understand your need to serve as cheerleaders.

Richard .
January 30, 2011

I would have liked to see solar split in solar PV and CSP (solar thermal) as they are very different technologies. CSP would be about 500 MW.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_solar_thermal_power_stations

Fernando De Samaniego Steta
January 29, 2011

Spain installed almost 500 MW of PV modules in 2010 due to delays on previous projects. I would like to see what is the share of solar electricity in their mix this summer!

John Moran
January 28, 2011

Spain's FIT was too high and had no flexibility to react to an oversupplied market but this shows how quickly renewables, and solar specifically, can ramp up given the right public policy. Getting the balance right bewtween FIT rates and protecting the ratepayer is a nuanced exercise but can be done and the mistakes and successes of previous FIT's should provide a good roadmap

Add Your Comments

To add your comments you must sign-in or create a free account.

Paul Gipe

Paul Gipe has written extensively about renewable energy for both the popular and trade press. He has also lectured widely on wind energy and how to minimize its impact on the environment and the communities of which it is a part. For his...