Spain sparks fears of energy industry crisis as renewable supply exceeds demand | BBC News
now to Spain which has become one of Europe’s Prime renewable energy hotspots with a sharp increase in the installation of solar and wind generators over the last few years however despite the successful move towards green energy sources electricity consumption has been dropping which has triggered concern this could lead to a crisis in the industry guy hedco has more from Spain on the sun soaked Plains of central Spain solar Farms are a common site a boom in renewable energy over the last half decade has made the country one of Europe’s top generators of green electricity renewable sources represented half of the country’s total electricity generation last year Spain aims to ensure they cover more than 80% of its electricity needs by 2030 this boom started practically in parallel with the change of government the Socialist Party from the first moment give this confidence to the market at the same time they introduce ambitious targets for 2030 the Spanish economy is growing faster than those of Europe’s other main players that should mean an increase in electricity demand and yet consumption of electricity in Spain last year was at its lowest since 2003 this is partly because of Energy Efficiency measures as well as an EU drive to cut energy use in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine also the expansion of renewable generation in homes and businesses has further cut dependence on the National Grid it can be worrisome for generators especially when this decrease in in demand along with a high increase in Renewables means that power prices decrease quite a bit H which is something that of of course they they need to take into account in in their project the concern is that these low energy prices while good for consumers could deter investment one way of preventing this imbalance is to move further away from traditional fuels despite Spain’s relative success in making the green transition much of the economy still depends on fossil fuels becoming more reliant on electricity the so-called electrification of the economy is seen as a way of securing cleaner energy but also of increasing the demand for the generation of electricity the government Target is for a third of the Spanish economy to be electrified in the next 5 years of course there are solutions for these one is more electrification but on the other side we need to engage more people and more Industries in demand side management to make sure that the flexibility needed in the system is out there so to make um generation and demand matching better during the day during the night as Spain pushes on with its transition to a green economy one of its biggest challenges is to ensure that demand for electricity keeps up with what is a plentiful Supply guy had meico BBC News Spain
Spain has become one of Europe’s prime renewable energy hotspots, with a sharp increase in installation of solar and wind generators over the last few years.
However despite the successful move towards green energy sources, electricity consumption has been dropping.
This has triggered concern this could lead to a crisis in the industry.
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45 Comments
Bitcoin miners…. You know what to do
It's a crisis for investors and people who work in traditional power plants because in the future it might close down in favor of renewables.
Weird, I thought capitalism and free markets were the most efficient way to organize the economy. ARE LIBERTARIANS WRONG???!
How low can the BBC go?
Ridiculous spin on something good; what oil company wrote this title?
Concerns of the fossil fuel industry? Leave it to the BBC to do a piece like this on behalf of their sponsors like BP
The problem is that low energy prices discourage investment in new renewable power generation. If Spain wants to continue to decrease its use of fossil fuels, it will need to continue to build up its renewable energy supply, and the companies who are contracted to do this work must keep up.
They can sell to EU grid , Crises or good thing, start shutting the fuel ⛽️ plants.
Simple solution stop using fossil fuels.
Common grid for europe
They can transmit to other europe countries and charge them
Shit! All our plans are working… now what do we do?!? 😿
This sounds like a success story and something that every other country should aim to achieve. Its the only way out of environmental crisis. Why is BBC turning this achievement into a crisis?
Wait what?
Crisis not enough and crisis of too much haha next be crisis of right amount.
Wunderfull, let them create industries which will benefit from the energy!
Too much power? Then it's time to level up! Just need a Spanish Elon musk then bam! Churros on mars😋
It's like everyone in the comments is competing to show how little knowledge of economics they have!
I wish we had the problem of cheap, plentiful energy. Feel sorry for the billionaires.
I live just outside of Barcelona where the sun does shine even though it's been a little wetter this year. When the energy crisis started and all our bills went up, the government asked everybody to turn down their air conditioners by a degree or two, which worked! All the shops and bars suddenly became hotter, but at least you could have a cool beer outside. Last year when the temperatures were much higher than normal it became difficult to find somewhere to cool down. Now that energy prices have fallen, some shops are returning to the cool oasis's they were before. As far as I can remember there is a local desalination plant which they want to expand, powered by solar, to help with the tourist demand for fresh water. This year all the beach showers and fountains have been removed or drained. Even the marina where I am currently staying is redeveloping their workshop area, so the roof will be covered with solar panels, and hopefully they will include charging points for the many E.V.s we have here. If all the apartments had solar on their roofs I'm sure the demand from the grid would fall rapidly, just the high demand items such as lifts would be connected. I think the socialist government in Spain realises there will be no future for the country if they don't take these measures. Desertification is rampant here, so anything to cool the planet down is welcome 🙂
You can tell the Tories have taken over the BBC!
Surely Spain can export their oversupply to other countries? I'm sure it would be more than welcomed. This is one of the best "problems" to have.
crank up air condition, problem solved
honestly i am so angry. how on earth is this a "crises"
How is this a problem you muppets.
This is good. Not bad, I just returned to the UK from a country where energy is way cheaper. We're being ripped a new one here and as soon as I move I'll get PV and a battery.
1st world problems. Give me a break.
Panic Panic. Cheap Clean Energy is a Big Problem. 😂😂😂
That's how you get clicks! 😂😂😂
Still at least it looks like the drone pilot had a great time
Export it then
Dear BBC, this was a terribly structured piece. There are real problems with the rapid decrease in the costs of solar panels, but they were poorly explained. In my opinion, the problems are twofold. Mainly that solar farms made with expensive panels years ago will now be running at a loss when there is an abundance of electricity generation. That is too bad, but is it all that different from other challenges when running a business? (See Kodak and Nokia to name a few.) Of course, the issue of transporting the huge amounts of electricity from the places that previously only received limited power is a big challenge. Green electricity generation will be curtailed when in abundance until it will be stored when it becomes economically viable.
My main problem with the piece is it does not address the flip side. The Operating Costs of an EV are much lower mainly because the car can charge at any moment during the about 20 hours a day that it is parked, so can charge when electricity is cheap exactly because of the generation of green electricity.
In summary, this piece would have been better if it just described the underlying dynamics resulting in a shift in power from the companies generating electricity / petrol, to the consumers of energy who can time when to use it.
The news channels always can find news in anything. 2 years ago EU were scared of energy shortage. You always can export excess electricity as long as you have a good grid. It is way easier to export electricity compared to fossil fuel.
Why is this framed so negatively?
It's a disruptive technology. Obviously there are minor issues. But knowbody in Spain is complaining. This is presented purely for scare mongering. The British National Grid are all for more renewable. Just like the Spanish grid operators
Don’t believe the energy industry. They just want to make short term profits for their shareholders. It’s their own fault that they don’t adjust to the new economy and leave it to consumers to find their own solutions. And now they complain??? It’s exactly the same in the Netherlands.
So in reality personal energy generation at home is so good in Spain big companies are loosing money. The horror!
Ridiculous headline. All good news. Misses the point that green energy actually reduces the need for electricity, you loose lots in transmission. Its just talking about the issues with changing any system from an old inefficient sysyem
Are they not able to export the energy; either through cable or by battery?
This is the real reason we all have to buy electric cars and hobs- keep that demand up for the PM’s early investor friends.
I don’t get the point. If 50% of the energy comes from solar and wind, there is no issue with the reduction of demand. The wind and the sun are free … at least for now.
Terrible headline
What is bad for big corporations is almost always good for everyone else.
suffering from success
Someone at the BBC understands what's going on, but isn't allowed to say it.
A laughably absurd problem.
So the problem is there is more renewable energy than can be used in Spain? How about just send the excess to the next country along?
Why is this considered a problem???
Ah fuck off..how they were doing before covid,price was lower at this time and they survived.Just they made more profit with covid, and with inflation they complaining now that people using less