Spanish solar energy has accelerated in the last five years, climbing four positions in the national ranking of installed capacity by adding more than 12,400 MW of new renewable energy.

The sun is shining brighter than ever for Spanish solar energy. This is evident in the data recently published by Red Eléctrica de España (REE), which clearly demonstrates a growth trend for solar power in Spain. While this trend could be inferred from the numerous projects developed and in the pipeline in recent years, it is now confirmed by the data. Over the last five years, 12,400 MW of new installed solar power capacity has been deployed in the country, bringing the total installed capacity to over 17 GW. Solar energy has thus become the third largest source of electricity generation, surpassing hydropower.

Furthermore, according to data available up to September and published by REE itself, the effects of this increase in installed capacity driven by the green transition have resulted in 2022 being the year with the highest electricity production in history, exceeding 22,200 GWh. This record is further bolstered by the fact that 11% of the electricity generated in the country so far this year is solar, integrating 6% more GWh into the grid than in all of 2021.

This positive trend was particularly evident during May, when solar photovoltaics generated a record across the Iberian Peninsula, covering more than half of the instantaneous electricity demand—specifically 54.3% of the total—on May 1st at 3:41 PM. Furthermore, May 26th also saw the highest photovoltaic generation in the country, becoming the day with the highest total wattage generated nationwide, reaching 153 GWh—20% of the total energy generated that day.

The Spanish solar industry: breaking records year after year

If that weren’t enough, 2022 follows a 2021 in which the country’s installed photovoltaic capacity increased by 28.8%, adding more than 3.3 GW to the national generation capacity, while electricity generation from this technology soared by an impressive 36.7%. This news sheds considerable light on thedecarbonization process and energy transition of the Iberian country.

This information, published in the “Preliminary report on the Spanish electricity system 2021The document, published annually by Red Eléctrica de España with the main figures for the Spanish sector, indicates that renewables have reached a share of close to 47% and produce, thanks to the contribution of solar photovoltaics in Spain, 10% more than in 2020; reducing CO2 equivalent emissions associated with electricity production to the lowest value at the national level since records began.

Owner/Source: Red Eléctrica de España

In 2021, renewable technologies continued their growth in the country’s power generation capacity: by year-end, they represented 56.6% of the national production capacity (112,846 MW). In total, the national electricity system added more than 4,000 new MW of renewable energy last year, reaching 63,896 MW of green capacity. Thus,One out of every four megawatts installed in Spain is wind power generationThis technology has increased its presence by 2.5% compared to 2020, reaching 28,175 MW in service as of December 31. Photovoltaics, meanwhile, has experienced the greatest increase—as mentioned earlier—growing by 28.8% compared to 2020, reaching 15,048 MW.