Renewable energies are increasingly becoming a key player in the

Renewables are reaching records and numbers never before reached in recent months, and wind and solar are leading these movements. And they will continue to do so. According to Red Eléctrica's estimates, renewable energies could reach 50% of electricity generation by 2023, that is, half of the electricity could be renewable, with a contribution from wind and solar that could reach 42%. This is shown in Red Eléctrica' s (REE) reports on the 2022 financial year: the electricity system report and the renewable energy report.

The contribution of renewable energies to national electricity generation during the year 2022 has reached a share in electricity generation of 42.2 %, 4.5 percentage points lower than the previous year when renewables recorded a historical maximum with a weight of 46.7 % of the national energy mix, mainly due to the sharp decline in hydro production of 39.7 %, which has reached historical lows. On the contrary, wind and solar photovoltaic production reached record highs, with values of 61,176 GWh and 27,864 GWh respectively, as a consequence of the weather conditions and the increase in renewable installed capacity in the national electricity system.

In this sense, the data for 2022 show that the renewable installed power has experienced a growth of 9.1 % compared to the previous year, which means an increase of 5,899 MW. This increase in renewable installed capacity was mainly due to the increase in photovoltaic solar power, which contributed 4,498 MW, i.e. 76.3 % of the new capacity, which is the largest historical increase in this technology and has managed to overtake hydroelectric power, currently ranking as the third most powerful source of generation, accounting for 16.6 % of the total national installed capacity. Wind power has contributed an additional 1,400 MW to the new renewable power capacity and remains the leading technology, representing 25.2 % of the national generating park. In general, renewable energy installations represent 59.2% of Spain's electricity generation fleet.

National generation

- Wind: continues to be the most important renewable technology in the national generation mix, accounting for 22.1 % of total production, a slightly lower annual share than in the previous year when it recorded a historical high of 23.3 %. In 2022, wind power was the second technology in the generation structure, behind combined cycle and ahead of nuclear power, which accounted for 20.3 % of the national total. Wind power production continued to grow for the sixth consecutive year, with a variation in 2022 of 1.1 % compared to 2021. A total of 61,176 GWh were produced with this technology, reaching a new historical record for wind power generation.

- Photovoltaic: it has been the technology that has most increased its national installed capacity, incorporating 4,498 MW to the national generation park, which has meant an increase of 29.4 % compared to the previous year. This boost has allowed its electricity production during 2022 to experience an increase of 32.8 %, reaching 27,864 GWh, which means a new annual generation record and a maximum participation in the national mix with 10.1 %, which means a growth of 2 percentage points compared to 2021, occupying for the first time since records exist the fourth position in the peninsular generation structure.

By territories

Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Andalusia and Extremadura account for 57.9 % of the renewable installed capacity of the national electricity system. The highest percentage increase in renewable installed capacity was recorded in the Balearic Islands, which ended 2022 with a growth of 37.3 % due to the 47.9 % increase in photovoltaic solar installed capacity compared to the previous year.

- Castilla y León: the one with the highest renewable installed capacity in Spain, reaching a total of 12,554 MW green, which represents 95.6 % of its generation park. Wind power is the technology with the greatest presence in the region, representing 50.4 % of the total, and photovoltaic is the one that has registered the greatest increase, increasing its generation capacity by 39.1 % with respect to 2021. It continues to be the autonomous community with the highest renewable generation in Spain, with 20,744 GWh, which accounted for 89.7 % of the region's total production, a record high since records have been kept. Both generation and coverage in the mix are the highest figures in all of Spain in 2022, which consolidates Castilla y León's leadership in renewable energies in the country.

- Castilla-La Mancha: has overtaken Andalusia and has positioned itself as the second community with the highest installed capacity by registering the highest renewable increase with 1,619 MW and reaching a total of 9,865 green MW, which represents 80.8 % of the installed capacity in this community. This renewable growth is due, on the one hand, to the installation of 553 MW of wind power capacity in 2022, the largest increase of this technology in the whole country. In addition, solar photovoltaic, with 1,066 new MW installed in 2022, is the technology that has most increased its presence in La Mancha's generation park, 35.7% more than the previous year. However, in renewable production, it is in third place with 15,776 GWh, which represents 61.9 % of the energy generated in this community, with wind power, with 8,259 GWh, being the leading technology and generating 32.4 % of the electricity. Solar photovoltaic increased its generation by 59.2 % with respect to the previous year, making it the second community with the highest solar photovoltaic production, with a weight of 21.4 % of the national total.

- Andalusia was the third community with the highest installed renewable power capacity in Spain, with a total of 9,811 MW green. Thus, 55.5 % of the Andalusian generation park is renewable. During 2022, Andalusia was the second community with the greatest increase in solar photovoltaic capacity, adding 1,123 MW of new capacity and accounting for 21.0 % of the national total. Thus, solar photovoltaic has become the second technology in Andalusia's generating park with a weight of 23.6%. In 2022, generation from these technologies totaled 16,680 GWh, 4.1 % more than in 2021, and became the second region with the most green GWh produced in 2022.