Spain

Wind Energy in Spain

Throughout most of 2017, wind power was the second largest source of electricity generation in Spain. But in December, wind power became the largest source with a share of 24.3%. The Energy Planning of the government, which committed to installing about 6,400 MW of new wind capacity and investing about 7.5 billion EUR (8.99 billion USD) to meet European targets for 2020, is ongoing.

The Spanish wind sector installed only 96 MW during 2017. National investments for wind-related R&D totaled 11 million EUR (13.2 million USD) in 2017.

To learn more about wind energy in Spain, please review their chapter in the IEA Wind TCP 2017 Annual Report.

National Targets

Spain’s wind power capacity forecast is 29.4 GW. To meet the national target, the country would require 6.4 GW of new wind capacity by the end of 2020, but the success of solar PV (3.91 GW) in the second auction has limited the deployment of more wind capacity. After the success of the first auction for renewable projects in 2016, with 500 MW of wind capacity awarded in subsidy-free conditions, the government decided to carry out two more auctions in 2017. Those two auctions were based on investment cost discount.

Operational Details

Spain installed 96 MW of new wind power capacity in 2017. After the government’s energy reform, only 164 MW have been installed in the last four years. For this reason, the Spanish wind manufacturing sector has been forced to export almost 100% of its products.

Land-based wind power capacity increased 96 MW to 23,092 MW in 2017. Wind-based electricity generation was responsible for 47.70 TWh/yr, representing 18.2% of total electricity generation. Wind-based electrical generation increased 1.7%, becoming the second largest source of electricity generation in Spain.

National R,D&D Priorities & Budget

The Spanish government considers wind energy a national priority. R&D activities primarily focus on land-based applications: increasing O&M cost competitiveness, extension-of-life strategies for wind farms, optimized manufacturing process, etc. Offshore wind R&D activities are increasing, especially for floating applications. National investments in wind energy R&D amounted to 11.0 million EUR (13.2 million USD) in 2017. This budget is clearly lower than in the previous years because of the delay in the calls for proposals.