The use of renewable energies in Spain has been a reality for years and has a variety of options to choose from. With either of them, consumers can not only save money on their electricity bills, but also contribute to sustainable energy consumption and care for the environment. But what are they? the most used renewable energies in Spain?
Each of the types of sustainable energy generation It has its own characteristics and allows greater or lesser ease of use. In the P.O.Was experts in photovoltaic installations, we want to tell you not only the data, but also what each of the most widespread renewable energies in our country consists of.
Thus, we will explain what positions are currently occupied by the different types of energy (solar photovoltaic, wind, hydraulic, biomass, geothermal, etc.) in relation to the installed power for self-consumption of energy.
Of course, first you need to define what are renewable or clean energycompared to non-renewable energy such as gas, oil or coal.
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What are renewable energies?
Renewable energy, as defined by the UN, is energy derived from natural sources that is replenished faster than it is consumed. Abundant in any type of natural environment, some of the most important are:
- Sunlight: with which it is generated solar energy.
- Wind: which allows the production of Wind power.
- The water: with which we generate hydroelectric or hydraulic power.
- The thermal energy of the Earth\’s interior: used for the production of geothermal energy.
- Thermal energies of sea water or water currents: used to generate ocean energy.
- organic materials called biomass: allows the production of bioenergy.
In this way, renewable sources are continuously renewed, while fossil fuels (coal, oil or gas) allow the generation of non-renewable energies because they are produced by burning these fuels and are finite.
For this reason, renewable energies are called clean because they produce a lot less greenhouse gas emissions into the atmospherebeing an indispensable tool for the fight against climate change.
The most used renewable energies in Spain in 2022
From 1998 to 2018, the renewable energies with the highest electric power in Spain were wind, hydro, solar photovoltaic, solar thermoelectric, wind and biomass, according to data from the National Commission for Markets and Competition.
Now, of all the renewable energies available, which are the most used and with the highest installed capacity in Spain as of September 2022? This is the classification according to Red Eléctrica de España (REE) data.
Wind power
Installed power from wind energy leads the ranking, with 25.45% of the total. In other words, the power is 29,511.9 MW out of the 115,987.2 MW of the country\’s total.
combined cycle
In second place is the combined cycle electricity generation, with an installed capacity of 26,250.1 MW (22.64%). Combined cycle power plants are those that generate electricity and heat at their facilities, due to the coexistence of two thermodynamic cycles: one of them through a gas working fluid that burns or remains, and another fluid that is steam from water under pressure .
Photovoltaic solar energy
The installed power from photovoltaic solar energy already reaches 14.78% in our country. A figure that does not include, of course, the self-consumption of people in Spain with their own solar panels. The calculation regarding the power of private homes currently exceeds 2.7 GW.
It should be borne in mind that installing solar panels in homes It is simpler than other sources of renewable energy, and due to the low cost of installations, it allows a quick payback in addition to economic savings on the electricity bill for users.
Likewise, Spain is a country with many hours of sunshine, so in a natural way favored by the weather and meteorological conditions, we can get a lot of performance and advantages from the use of electricity through photovoltaic energy thanks to the use of solar panels. .
In this context, the figures recorded by REE indicate that the production of photovoltaic electricity in Spain in the first nine months of 2022 exceeds the entire production of 2021: more than 21,000 gigawatts/hour (gW/h) have already been produced for the 20,954 gW. /h from last year.
Hydraulic energy
Fourth, the installed power that comes from hydropower represents 14.74% of Spain\’s total. A fact very close, as I just mentioned, to solar photovoltaic.
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The advantages of renewable energies in Spain
Earlier we briefly mentioned the differences between renewable and non-renewable energy. Now, to conclude this article about the most used renewable energies in Spain for electricity generation, we mention some of their advantages:
the fight against climate change
First, one of the benefits or advantages of using clean energy is that they enable us to fight and combat climate change. As previously explained, renewable energy production avoids burning fossil fuels, therefore GHG emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2) are minimized.
Economic savings on bills
Renewable energy allows users save money on your electricity bill, as in the case of photovoltaic installations. Along with state, regional and municipal aid and subsidies, the amortization of endowments adds to the saving of money, whether for individual or community use.
The engine of economic growth
Finally, it should not be forgotten that the drive at European level for clean energy policies (for example with the Next Generation funds targeting the installation of photovoltaic panels) makes it easier for clean energy to be one of the engines of economic growth Currently in Spain and the rest of the EU countries.
