Wind energy has set two new records in 2011: in March, it produced more electricity than in its history and, for the first time, it was the technology that generated more power in Spain than any other resource.
Spanish renewables generation over the first two months of 2011 covered 38 per cent of national consumption, with wind producing nearly half of this, according to statistics from grid operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE). To give these figures some context, during March wind energy in Spain produced enough electricity to meet Portugal’s monthly consumption.
“This historic milestone reached by wind energy shows that this technology is not only indigenous, clean and competitive, but also capable of supplying already 13 million average Spanish households” said José Donoso, President of the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE).
In fact, a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that Spain is the fourth largest net exporter (it exported more than it imported) of the European Union, after France, Germany and Czech Republic. In total, Spain exported electricity worth of 8.3 TWh in 2010. Last year, there were only six European countries that exported electricity.
The figure is just two percentage points behind the EU’s binding target for the country by 2020, set at 40 per cent. It is also exactly double the penetration achieved by nuclear power and just short of doubling top-dog generator, combined cycle gas, which covered 21 per cent.
