Spain Re-ignites Love Affair with Renewable Energy

---

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Years after ending support for renewable energy projects, Spain's government has pledged to spend up to 600 million euro ($632 million) a year to revive the flagging sector.

The Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism confirmed that it has updated the remunerations for electric power installations in the renewable energy, cogeneration and waste sectors for the period 2017 to 2019. It claimed that the updates to the Electricity Sector Law "guarantees a reasonable return of 7.4% to the installations."

Solar and wind energy have received no financial support since 2012-13, when existing financial supports were withdrawn. Spain began making retroactive cuts to promised renewable energy payments after 2008, due to the onset of the European recession. Up until that point, Spain was Europe's leading investor in solar power and a major supporter of onshore wind projects. However, the generous subsidies offered and the subsequent rush of solar and windfarm construction left the government with a massive bill and consumers with some of the highest electricity prices in Europe.

Regarding the new proposals, the government stated: "This update, already envisaged in the regulations, means an increase in the remuneration of renewable installations, cogeneration and waste of about 600 million euro per year, and all without having to raise tolls."

In January, the government also announced that it is planning to confirm an auction for 3 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity. At the start of this year. Energy Minister Alvaro Nadal told parliament that 3 GW is necessary ensure that Spain meets its binding European Union (EU) target for 2020 of getting 20% of its total energy from renewables. Currently, it stands at roughly 17%. That percentage is much higher in the power mix.

Figures from late in 2016 showed that over the first eight months, renewable energy accounted for more than 47% of Spain's electricity generation mix. Spanish electricity transmission system operator, Red Electrica de Espana (REE), said that the renewable mix comprised wind power (21.8%), hydroelectric (17.8%), solar photovoltaic (PV) (3.4%), solar thermal (2.4%) and "other" (1.8%). The remaining 52% comes mainly from nuclear power (23.2%), coal (10.5%), cogeneration (10.1%) and gas (8.2%).

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.