High wind, solar PV output push Spain's renewables share to 54% in May

An X-Elio solar farm. Image source: X-Elio (handout)

Power plants in Spain generated 54% of their electricity from clean and renewable sources in May, Spanish grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE) said in its estimates report for the month.

In April, the share of renewables in Spain’s total electricity production was 52.1%.

Renewables produced 11,593 GWh of electricity in May, up by 4.8% year-on-year, according to REE’s estimates.

Wind farms have been the most productive power plants in Spain for seven months in a row. Their combined output in May reached 5,441 GWh in May, which accounted for 25.4% of the total power generation.

For the first time, solar photovoltaic plants ranked the second-top electricity producer in the country. With an 18.1% share of the power mix and record generation, solar PV surpassed in output nuclear and combined-cycle gas plants.

More details on major power production technologies in Spain follow in the table below:

Technology:	Estimated production in GWh:	y/y change:	Share in May:	Share in January-May 2023:
Wind	5,441	16.1%	25.4%	25.9%
Hydro	1,383	-28.1%	6.4%	10%
Solar PV	3,883	15.8%	18.1%	13%
Solar CSP	500	-19.5%	2.3%	1.6%
Other renewables	338	-14.9%	1.6%	1.4%
Nuclear	3,743	-8.0%	17.4%	20.5%
Cogeneration	1,658	-11.4%	7.7%	7%
Combined-cycle gas	3,327	-10.4%	15.5%	14.6%
Coal	240	-54.5%	1.1%	1.4%

Spain’s gross demand for electricity dropped by 6.3% year-on-year to estimated 19,026 GWh in May. In adjusted terms, demand declined by 4.6% on the year.

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