Source: AFP
Spain will generate more than half of its electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar in 2023 in a “historic” record, the national electricity grid said on Thursday.
According to data from Red Electrica Espanola (REE), electricity production from renewable sources reached almost 135,000 GWh last year, accounting for 50.4 percent of the total national energy mix.
This figure, which is eight points higher than the 42.2 percent achieved in 2022, represents a record, with Spain passing the 50 percent threshold for electricity from renewable sources for the first time, a statement from REE.
Wind was the top energy source for the second consecutive year, generating 63,000 GWh, or 23.3 percent of the total electricity generated in Spain.
And solar power facilities produced 37,000 GWh of power, or 14 percent of the total, well above the figure for hydropower at 9.5 percent, he said.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/0b41fb8081801179.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/0b41fb8081801179.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
US private sector increases hiring in December
The figure for nuclear electricity remained stable, accounting for 20.3 percent of the total, while gas-fired electricity fell seven points to 17.2 percent over the same period.
The figures “are irrefutable proof that the green transition is steadily progressing in Spain,” Beatriz Corredor, head of REE’s parent company Redeia, said in a statement.
The government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has pledged to increase the share of renewable energy to 74% of Spain’s total electricity generation by 2030, an achievable goal given the country’s natural abundance of sunshine and wind.
As a result, there has been a rise in massive projects including solar installations and wind farms fueled by massive investment, particularly in the sparsely populated north and center of the country.
This number makes Spain one of the leaders in Europe in terms of the largest renewable energy capacity.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/9078919e991e67df.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/9078919e991e67df.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
German emissions at 70-year low as coal use falls
Germany also published preliminary data in mid-December showing that, for the first time, electricity generation from renewable sources was above 50 percent of the total in 2023.
Source: AFP