HE to consume electric Drops in Spain in 2023 at the levels of twenty years ago It reached approximately 244,000 gigawatt hours (GWh), which is 2.6% less than in 2022. Electrical Network. To find a lower figure you need to go back to the year 2003During the period when the national demand was 237,329 GWh. The explanation for this decrease lies in the impairment of activity. industry, self-consumption, energy efficiency and high temperatures from last year.
The 2023 figure is even below this year’s demand 2020 (250,000 GWh), Pandemic The cessation of industrial activities caused a significant contraction in consumption. From here, there was a small recovery in 2021, but the energy crisis caused this recovery to decline. Partly due to the measures taken competencebut it is also due to the decrease in consumption of large industry due to high prices. electric.
But beyond the current variant there is another reason that is ‘biting’ the demand and will not stop doing so: self consumption. According to the employers’ association UNEF, around 2,700 gigawatts of solar panels for own consumption were installed in Spain in 2022; This is a rate of over 108% compared to 2021 and reached 5,200 GW of installed capacity. Around 2,000 GW more are expected to come online in 2023, making this the highest level of such installations worldwide. 7,000 GW installed.
self consumption reduces demand Because the consumer is not fed with the energy coming from the electricity grid while using the energy produced by his own plates. According to some sources, self-consumption is already a reduction on demand 9 terawatt-hours, which would be equivalent to about 4% of the total.
The government’s goal is to achieve this goal. 19 GW in 2030, reaching nearly 2,000 GW per year this goal is achieved. The problem is that this transition to decarbonization of the electricity system must be accompanied by another series of consumption that does not occur, triggering an increase in demand; electrification -The change of heating to heat pumps or internal combustion cars to electric cars- or the emergence of renewable hydrogen.
“There is a lot of emphasis on developing green hydrogen, but we see it as something that is not going to happen. before 2030. Even more in between 2030 and 2040 Because there is no major deployment yet and the cost of gray hydrogen (produced by gas) does not stimulate demand. “It is necessary to look for other ways that meet the demand and provide price certainty for the amount of renewable energy planned to be installed,” he warned. Enrique Barbudogeneral manager Verbund Green Power IberiaDuring the Renewable Energy Congress organized by the APPA association, the Spanish subsidiary of Austria’s main ‘utility’.
The dilemma is not new. This summer, the first swords of the major Spanish electricity companies, while presenting their half-year results to investors, said one by one: without demand, investments in renewable energy will slow down. The government confirms that there are large consumers who want to settle in Spain and connect to the network. access requests for connect to network by data centres, hydrogen plants and other storage facilities.
But this solution does not appear immediately. According to estimates National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) – included in 2023 toll report – electricity demand will remain virtually unchanged Unchanged through 2024With a forecast of 242,820 GWh, it is 0.1% less than the 242,944 GWh forecast for the end of 2023. The problem with the differences between low consumption and high renewable generation is that there is energy stranded and unused. overflow for the system and consumers.