New report says that, last year, wind power met 21.1% of the country's demand

Jan 7, 2014 20:51 GMT  ·  By

Spain's grid operator, i.e. Red Eléctrica de España (REE, for short) has released a new report saying that, in the year 2013, wind was the country's main energy source.

More precisely, the report says that, according to recent estimates, this green energy source met 21.1% of Spain’s overall power demand within said time frame.

By comparison, nuclear power provided 21% of the total electricity used across the country last year.

Although the difference between wind power's and nuclear power's contribution to Spain's national grid is not all that great, the fact remains that, in 2013, green energy was king.

As REE writes in its report, “For the first time ever, [wind power] contributed most to the annual electricity demand coverage.”

Business Green says that, last year, wind power generation in Spain amounted to 53,926GWh of electricity. When compared to the wind power production documented back in 2012, this represents a 12% increase, the same source details.

“On February 6, wind power recorded a new maximum of instantaneous power with 17,056MW at 3:49 pm (2.5 per cent up on the previous record registered in April 2012), and that same day the all-time maximum for hourly energy was also exceeded reaching 16,918MWh,” REE stresses in its report.

“Similarly, in January, February, March and November wind power generation was the technology that made the largest contribution towards the total energy production of the system,” it adds.

Thanks to heavy rainfall, the country's hydroelectric power generation also upped to an impressive 32,205GWh. Specialists say that, when compared to the historic average, this represents an increase of 16%.

By comparison, the power output of cycle gas plants, coal-fired plants, and nuclear power is said to have been reduced by 34.2%, 27.3%, and 8.3%, respectively.

REE estimates that, courtesy of this increase in the country's green energy production, greenhouse gas emissions linked to the power sector have dropped by about 23% in 2013.

“The increased weight of renewable energy in the generation mix structure of 2013 compared to the previous year has reduced CO2 emissions of the electricity sector on the Spanish peninsula to 61.4 million tonnes, 23.1 per cent lower than in 2012,” REE says in its report.