There is no one to stop him. Spain’s renewables boom continues its unstoppable march despite government attempts to prevent grid access requests from spiraling out of control. In fact, they are already more than 145 GW renewable those who have permission to accessof which 96GW also with the connection, according to the data from Spanish Electricity Network (REE)as of January 31, 2022.
Focusing only on those who obtained both licenses (the right of access and the right to Login at a point in the electrical network), To the 41.8 GW of wind and solar photovoltaic production in service, it is planned to add an additional 95 GW.
In other words, renewable capacity would more than double in a few years, according to the “andstate Requests” on the REE website. The rest, up to more than 96 GW, is due to other clean technologies. 23.7 GW are still waiting their turn as they have the request pending but have not yet been granted. A few soaring figures, and many of those expected over the next eight years: Additional 60 GW in total by 2030according to him PNIEC (Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan).
The technology behind this impressive growth is, without a doubt, the Solar panel. While there are 13.5 GW already in operation, a whopping 101.6 GW is expected. It could almost be multiplied by ten. A photovoltaic park is generally built between a year and two, but this depends on the speed of the administrative procedures, in particular the request to REE.
Andalusia, the solar paradise
By autonomous communities, there is no doubt, Andalusia takes the cake of growth. Of the 2,400 MW of photovoltaics it currently has, there will soon be more than 17,071 MW distributed throughout its geography. To know, will multiply by seven your solar panel installations.
The board has repeatedly stated that it wants to be the leader in Spain in energetic transition following the revolving path of Castilla y León and Galicia. To do this, he encrypted 1,280,000 hectares land available for install and update its gross renewable potential.
This is demonstrated by the latest available data from the Andalusian Energy Agency. It aims to add 254,000 MW of photovoltaic energy, 25,000 MW of onshore wind and 11,000 MW of marine energy.
Castile and Leon It will also give a strong boost to photovoltaics, far from the Andalusian miracle. Of the current 931 MW, there could be 11,951 MW in two or three years. The champion of wind installations (6,092 MW in operation today) plans to add an additional 3,498 MW, and slightly overtake Aragon, which is close behind (on the 4,280 MW in operation), with an additional 3,722 MW .
Madrid and the King of Stars
But let’s come back to the rise of photovoltaics, because the one that surprises the most by the number of projects that could materialize is the Madrid community. From hosting just 132 MW to growing to 10,917 MW. Nothing less than multiply your solar capacity by 100 in just a few months.
Another important region is Catalonia. The cap that the Generalitat has put on the development of renewable energies explains why one of the largest territories of the Peninsula has only installed 263 MW of solar panels. It should also multiply, but by 10, up to 2,409 MW. Something similar to what happens with the Valencian Communitywhere 589 MW solar is operating and growth of up to 6,475 MW is expected.
And while the northern fringe regions don’t expect much HP, La Rioja, Navarre and Aragon they take off strong. From 87 MW to 921 MW, 152 MW to 979 MW and 1,308 MW to 7,509 MW, respectively.
Castilla la Mancha it is also developing very favourably, going from 2,279 MW to 6,351 MW. Extremadura and Community of Murcia they don’t go that fast.
And, finally, in the archipelagos, the commitment to solar power is obvious. In the Canary Islands, they will be multiplied by almost 5 (from 157 MW to 515 MW), and in the Balearic Islands as well (from 118 MW to 488 MW).
Galicia, the wind
All Autonomous Communities are developing in wind energy, with the exception of the Balearic Islands, which already have a testimony of 3 MW. However, it is Galicia where other wind farms should be built.
Although today it is one of the leading regions in terms of wind technology, with 4,071 MW, it is expected that in a few years an additional 5,423 MW will be added, making a total of 9,494MW. This is without taking into account the possibilities that open up in offshore windwhich has not yet been taken into account by Red Eléctrica because the necessary infrastructure or regulations do not exist.
With Castile and Leon and Aragón, the winning podium is disputed. And for very little, the Castilian plateau rises to first place, because if the 3,498 MW that already have an access point are installed, together with the existing 6,092 MW, they would add 9,590MW.
In the case of Aragonwould be in third position, with 8,002MW (Currently it has 4,280 MW and 3,722 MW is expected).
Other technologies
It is not just wind power and photovoltaics that are renewable energies. Other technologies want to make a dent in a carbon-free energy future. These are plants of biomass, solar thermal power plants, some geothermalbut in the future others could be added such as offshore wind, waves, tides, storage…
In the case of thermal solar, only 50 new MW were requested in MurciaThis is not the case in the only five autonomous communities that are developing this technology: Catalonia (23 MW), Castilla-La Mancha (250 MW), Comunidad Valenciana (81 MW), Extremadura (849 MW) and Andalucía (997 MW). ).
For the rest of the clean technologies, the requests barely exceed 50 MW per region, with the exception of Aragon (124 MW) and Andalusia (161 MW).