Concern about the energy effects of drought. The lack of rain and the resounding decline of Spanish reservoirs are having consequences for energy production. It was newly known that A hydroelectric power station in Catalonia has stopped operating permanently due to lack of water, but the worst part is that others can follow their path. Right now, power generation from this clean source has halved so far this year, forcing us to use fossil fuels when they should be most avoided.
this Rialb hydroelectric power stationIn Lleida, it permanently ceased all activities on Wednesday at the request of the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation. Its reservoir is below 7% exceeded 49% of its capacity just one year ago.
this This is the first time the plant has closed since at least 2009, when Acciona began managing this swamp. The Lleida facility has two turbines capable of producing 24.8 and 5.9 megawatts (MW) per day, respectively. The energy that cannot be produced by this power plant will be supplied from other sources as stated by the company.
The fact is that the Rialb reservoir is the reservoir that is located. Catalonia’s worst case: Community inland basins managed by the Catalan Water Agency are at 39% of their capacity (one year ago, 74.2%), while those affiliated with the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation are at 41.82% (66% twelve months ago). This is a common situation across the country. And this is demonstrated by the most recently published data.
this Spain reservoirs 20 points below what they should be this time of year (worst number since 1995): 36.9%, up from 44% last year. The Guadalquivir Valley suffers the worst of this drought (22.5%).
The shutdown of the Rialb hydroelectric power station is just a preview of what could happen. And the situation at these plants producing clean electricity in Spain due to drought is alarming. They Production in the country as a whole fell to the lowest level in more than 30 yearsaccording to official statistics.
Hydropower fell by half
So far this year, Spanish hydroelectric power stations (generating electricity through their waterfalls) provide half of the energy they did last year. Special, Energy production from reservoirs decreased by half compared to last year. In mainland Spain, it was 52.8% lower in July 2022 than in the same month of the previous year. According to the monthly newsletter of Red Eléctrica Española (REE), the decrease in hydraulic power generation in the January-July 2022 period was 49.5% compared to the same period in 2021.
This forces the combined cycle power plants to burn more gas to compensate for this reduction, and this returns the leading role to hydrocarbons. Drought, therefore, is not just a lack of water or damage to agriculture, it also affects clean energy production.
REE data show how important it is to have water in reservoirs to meet mainland Spain’s electricity demand. For example, last year, hydraulic energy met 11.9% of the peninsula’s electricity demand. In fact, it was the third largest resource after only wind (23.9%) and nuclear (21.8%), which gives an idea of its importance.
According to the data published by the Maldita.es portal, the annual hydraulic production could be at the end of August. lowest since at least 1999. “We have been seeing the decrease in the production of the hydroelectric power plant for months. It’s not just a summer or a punctual landingMarcial González, from the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Carlos III University of Madrid and also a member of Bendita Energía, explains.
Globally, approximately 26% of existing hydroelectric dams and 23% of projected reservoirs are currently located in river basins with moderate to very high risk of water scarcity, according to a study published in the journal 2022. Toilet. The authors predict that 61 to 74% of hydroelectric power plants will experience production problems due to lack of wateropens an alarming panorama.
According to experts, this can affect the price of electricity bills starting in the fall (as these facilities usually produce little energy during the summer months). It is an inexpensive production system that forces the use of fossil fuels at a higher cost when partially cancelled.
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