For the first time in modern history, Spain has covered more than 40% of its electricity generation with renewable energy. According to Ember, an international energy analysis group, the sum of wind and solar last month surpassed the previous record (of 38.9% in May 2021) and surpassed the symbolic barrier of 40%. However, that is not the most interesting part of the report.
at the head of Europe. For the past few years, Ember analysts have been monitoring power generation and import data from more than 75 countries that represent 93% of all global electricity demand. In addition, they complement them with a history of 209 countries from 2000 onwards. In this context we can see many countries that generate more than a quarter of their production, but only in Spain and the Netherlands does the bet seem to bear fruit and they are at the head of Europe.
And not only in Europe. All this is part of a “global acceleration” of these two energy sources. According to analysts, this combo has doubled since 2015 and already represents 10% of the electricity in the entire globe. Moreover, they are the energies that are growing the most in the world for the seventeenth consecutive year.
Spain progresses little by little… Anyway, that’s not the most interesting thing: and it’s that according to Ember’s reports, in the last two years, the strength of wind and solar power has made it possible to reduce the share of fossil fuels in the country by eight percentage points. It is not as fast as we would like, but the trend is clear and consistent.
… but is still lost in the search for its energy model. It is important to take all this into account, especially now that the energy crisis has brought to the table (once again) the debate on what energy system we want for the country. It is clear that for countries like Spain, renewables are the most sustained path towards energy independence: however, the search for that independence is long, expensive and full of problems. It is not a bed of roses as is sometimes suggested by the public administrations that are committed to the energy transition.
Image | Gonz DDL
