Spain eyes massive solar and wind boosts under new energy plan

Spain has raised its targeted 2030 reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 32% up from a previous goal of 23% due, in large part, to a raising of expectations on how much solar PV and wind can be built out by the end of the decade.

Spain's revised plans for renewables point to a massive 56GW deployment of solar from 2023 to the end of the decade, and a 32GW increase in wind.

The figures emerged when the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) made a revised version of its National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) available for public consultation.

The new plan offered a more optimistic assessment of how much emissions can be cut from the 1990 baseline with the accelerated installation of renewables capacity.

Of a total 214 GW of total installed capacity in the electricity sector expected in 2030, Spain’s new energy strategy suggests that 160GW of this will be renewable generation, with 22GW of storage also in place, in various forms.

The revised plan raised expectations on the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that is achievable by 2030, with the target now placed at 32% below 1990 levels, compared with the 23% reduction promised in the 2020 version of PNIEC.

With the support of the European Union’s Next Generation funding initiative, the revised PNIEC emphasises the growing potential of PV in Spain, with capacity projected to reach of 76GW by 2030 — including 19GW self-generated for consumption — compared with a forecast of 39GW in the previous version of the plan.

Solar PV is the source of renewable power that has enjoyed most growth in Spain in recent years, surging 129% above between 2019 and 2022, when it reached 20.1GW, suggesting the targeted deployment of an additional 56GW in the next eight years.

The latest plan also includes the addition of 62GW of wind power, including 3GW of offshore wind, 14.5GW of hydro, 4.8GW of concentrated solar power (CSP) and 1.4GW of biomass.

Wind power increased in capacity by 17% in the 2019-22 period, reaching 30.1GW.

Overall, renewables will account for 48% of the energy matrix by 2030, and 81% of electricity generating capacity, the new PNIEC suggested.

The new plan also foresees a growing role for green hydrogen, especially in industrial sectors, with a forecast 11GW of electrolyser capacity in place by 2030, up sharply from the 4GW forecast contained in the earlier plan.

Away from renewables, the PNIEC document forecast that Spain would still rely on 26.6GW of combined cycle gas and 3GW of nuclear power plants for electricity generation in 2030.

The new plan was approved by Spain’s Council of Ministers on Tuesday and it will now be submitted to the European Commission

cover photo:EarthTechling