Spanish photovoltaics "makes a killing" in March with a new generation record.

March has been confirmed as the month with the highest participation of Spanish photovoltaic energy in electricity production, according to Red Eléctrica Española.

In the midst of the Covid-19 health crisis, positive or hopeful news is scarce. But not everything is negative these days, as renewable energy brings us some encouraging data for the month of March. According to Red Eléctrica Española (REE), last month saw the highest participation of Spanish photovoltaic energy in the energy mix, contributing 4.1% of the country’s electricity production.

Although this figure may seem minor out of context, it represents an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to the average figure for Spanish photovoltaics during 2019, which contributed a3.5% of production to the state electricity systemFurthermore, it should be noted that this data comes from the month of March, which, along with January and February, represents the period of greatest scarcity of daylight hours.

These figures are supported by the fact that 2019 was the most important year in the history of Spanish photovoltaics, practically doubling installed capacity by adding 4.1 GW to the 8.8 GW that this type of electricity generation is currently capable of producing in the Iberian country. To put this into context, this means that 8% of all electricity produced in Spain is solar-generated.

How much solar energy was produced in Spain in March?

According to information provided by Red Eléctrica Española (REE), solar photovoltaic energy generated 1,049 GWh of electricity, representing a 29.1% increase compared to the same period last year. Notably, on March 26, 2020, at 1:02 PM, solar power generated 6,337 MW in the Iberian Peninsula’s electrical grid, a figure 7.4% higher than the previous record set on February 26 at 2:29 PM.

It should also be noted that on March 29, 2020, at 12:09 PM, a quarter of the GWh generated in the Iberian Peninsula’s electrical system originated from solar power. Specifically, the instantaneous power reached 6,095 MW and represented 25.6% of the entire Iberian Peninsula’s electricity generation mix.

This data leads us to believe that this2020 could be a record yearRegarding solar energy generation in Spain, this confirms the trend of an increasing presence of renewables in general, and photovoltaics in particular, in the country’s energy mix.

2020 a sunny year for photovoltaic energy

These figures for increased electricity generation are in addition to the fact that, according to reports such as the one fromIHS MarkitThe installation of up to 142 GW of photovoltaic energy, which is a considerable figure considering that in 2010 there were 20,000 megawatts of this type of energy installed worldwide.

Continuing with that comparison of the last decade, in 2010 there were only seven countries, most of them inEuropeThose with more than 1,000 megawatts installed. The landscape has changed so much in just ten years that 2020 will end with 43 states exceeding 1,000 megawatts of installed capacity, with China remaining the undisputed leader, although its influence will gradually decline in favor of new players, especially in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, over the years.