Spain’s electricity landscape has a new dominant player: wind energy. Across the nation, wind farms now lead in power generation, overtaking traditional leaders such as nuclear plants and natural gas facilities. This shift is documented by Red Eléctrica de España, the operator of the national electricity grid, and signals a turning point for the country’s energy mix.
Wind energy has climbed to the forefront of electricity production for the third time in a decade, having regularly ranked second in the prior years. The milestone first occurred in 2013 when wind became the top producing technology. It was not repeated until 2021 amid the energy crisis, and 2023 marked another record year when wind, solar, and hydropower together produced more than half of Spain’s total electricity for the first time.
For the year as a whole, wind installations reached around 63,700 GWh, accounting for roughly one quarter of national production, and outpaced nuclear power at about 20 percent and gas plants at around 17 percent. Solar photovoltaics are set to show the sharpest growth, expected to exceed 37 thousand GWh with a 34 percent rise, securing a 14 percent share and becoming the fourth largest source of electricity in the country.
Low delivery rate
Spain has embarked on a broad deployment of renewable plants in recent years as the green transition reshapes electricity generation. Wind expansion has remained steady over the past six years after a pause between 2014 and 2017 caused by a government moratorium, a period that briefly slowed progress but did not end momentum.
Industry observers warn of a slowdown in new wind project commissioning in 2023, noting that the pace of installation may struggle to meet Spain’s 2030 green targets. In 2022, roughly 1,600 MW of new wind capacity went online, while projections for the current year suggest about 600 MW might come online. AEE, the sector’s employers’ association, emphasizes that faster processing of permits is essential to ensure stability and prevent project displacement. The association’s general manager, Juan Virgilio Márquez, has underscored the imperative to accelerate deployment to keep wind as a central pillar of Spain’s electricity mix by 2030. If wind cannot fit into the plan, the broader energy strategy could falter as well, he noted during media briefings.
Officials and industry groups point to the national plan as a benchmark, with expectations that 2,000 to 3,000 MW could come online each year and about 10,000 MW more by 2026. The roadmap through 2030 calls for activating around 5,500 MW annually to stay on track. The overarching administrator’s plan envisions reaching 63,000 MW of wind energy by 2030, which translates to around 33,000 new MW added over five years.
Efforts to streamline approvals and approvals-related processes are part of the conversation as policymakers balance speed with environmental and community considerations. The push to expedite permits aims to provide reliability and prevent backlogs that can hinder timely expansion. The wind industry remains committed to expanding its share of the energy mix while maintaining responsible project development that safeguards stability in the electricity system.
Economic impact
Wind activity contributed a substantial amount to Spain’s economy in the year 2022. A macroeconomic assessment prepared for the Wind Collaboration shows the sector added nearly 5.9 billion euros to GDP, with direct and indirect effects distributed across various segments of the economy. Direct contributions reached about four billion and ten million euros, while indirect effects added around one billion eight hundred eighty-three million euros. This activity supported tens of thousands of jobs, with around thirty-nine thousand people employed in 2022, split between direct and indirect roles. Export activity also remained strong, totaling over 2.5 billion euros, including goods, services, and electricity sales to international markets. Spain ranked among the world’s leading wind turbine exporters, following nations such as Germany, Denmark, China, and India. In addition, the shift to wind helped curb consumer costs by reducing the amount paid for electricity in 2022, reflecting the price relief associated with a cleaner power mix.
In short, wind energy is not only altering the electricity mix in Spain; it is also shaping the country’s economy by boosting investment, creating jobs, and easing the burden on consumers through price dynamics that favor renewables. Insights from market analyses and industry reports emphasize that steady policy support and streamlined project development will be essential to sustaining the momentum into the next decade and beyond.