Recent developments in Spain have sparked a historic shift as large-scale renewable facilities ramp up. The national electricity system set a historic milestone by generating more than half of its energy from renewables last year, reaching 50.4 percent. This surge surpassed the combined output from nuclear, gas, and coal plants and contributed to a notable drop in greenhouse gas emissions. REE, the manager of the Spanish electricity system, confirms that renewables were a dominant force in power generation and that the shift helped lower overall emissions in the electricity sector. The gains reflect a broader transition across the peninsula and the archipelagos, with renewables reshaping the energy mix well beyond continental Spain.
Spain’s electricity sector achieved a 28 percent reduction in emissions last year, including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, totaling up to 31.99 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. This accounting covers the entire national electricity system, including the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla, according to records maintained by REE. The data highlight the ongoing decarbonization of the country’s power sector as clean energy enters a larger share of supply and traditional fossil fuel use declines.
Power providers are steadily retracing a path toward lower emissions after 2022, a year marked by rapid gas-fired generation during the energy crunch and heightened electricity exports to neighboring countries, notably France. These patterns influenced emissions temporarily, but recent trends show renewed progress toward cleaner electricity while maintaining reliability and export capacity.
The Spanish electricity system has driven emissions down to historic lows over four consecutive years. In 2022 there was a 24 percent rise in emissions relative to 2021, reaching 44.4 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, but last year brought another decline. This decline pushed emissions below pre-crisis levels, with 2021 seeing about 35.9 million tonnes of CO2.
The growth of renewable energy has contributed to a broader reduction of greenhouse gases across all economic sectors in Spain, with forecasts from the Basque Center for Climate Change BC3 and the Energy Transition and Climate Action Observatory OTÉA indicating a 7.5 percent drop to 271.6 million tonnes in 2023. This trend aligns with the long term trajectory that, since 1990, shows emissions at historically low levels, even dipping below 2020 figures during the pandemic slowdown.
The wind reigns
Wind energy has once again led Spain’s electricity market, according to data from Red Eléctrica de España REE. Wind farms emerged as the top source of electricity generation, overtaking traditional leaders such as nuclear plants and the gas-fired fleet that dominated output in earlier years.
Over the past decade wind energy has regularly finished in second place, but last year brought a shift. The sector achieved the leadership position for the first time in 2013, briefly ceding to others before reclaiming the top spot in 2013, then again during the energy crisis era starting in 2021, and continuing into this record year for renewables.
Projected wind output for the year stands at around 62,662 gigawatt hours, representing about 23.5 percent of total production. This places wind ahead of nuclear power at roughly 20.3 percent and gas plants at about 17.2 percent. Photovoltaic solar energy is set to show the strongest growth, surpassing 37,300 GWh with a rise near 34 percent, and it will account for roughly 14 percent of total electricity production.