Spain Installed 2.3 GW New Solar In 2021

Solar power installations in Spain in the year 2021 would have increased 19.8% YoY to 2.3 GW out of more than 2.8 GW renewable energy the country is likely to have installed during the year, according to the national electricity grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE).

With just a few days left for 2021 to end, REE’s statistics cover data available till December 16, 2021.

Wind and solar PV technologies are likely to have accounted for 55.6% of the total installed renewable energy capacity during 2021 with wind energy installing 500 MW new capacity, reflecting an annual increase of 1.9%.

Overall, renewables will be responsible for 46.6% of all electricity produced in Spain in 2021, 9.9% more than what they did in 2020 with solar PV registering the highest increase in production. Renewable energy generation in 2021 should be over 121,500 GWh.

On the other hand, the clout of polluting power generation technologies such as coal is on the wane. Coal power generation capacity reduced by more than 800 MW. As of December 16, 2021, Spain’s cumulative installed power generation capacity was over 112.8 GW, having gone up 1.8% over 2020.

The numbers are much lower than what European solar PV lobby association SolarPower Europe’s (SPE) recently reported. In tis flagship publication EU Market Outlook for Solar Power 2021-2025, released in mid-December, SPE counts Spain to exit 2021 with 3.8 GW of newly installed solar power capacity as the 2^nd largest solar market of the bloc, citing Spanish solar industry association UNEF (see EU Installs Record 25.9 GW Solar In 2021). However, official Spanish statistics are usually in AC, while SPE reports DC, which is around 20% higher, and it’s not clear if rooftop systems are included in REE numbers as well.