Wind energy lobby: Spain needs more wind energy, faster

Rocio Scre, President of the wind energy lobby AEE said that Spain must accelerate its rollout of new projects if it wants to reach its 2030 goal of doubling current capacity.

The group calls on policymakers for a streamlined permissions process, to support Europe's supply chain, and to boost electrification. The electricity demand in Spain fell in 2022-2023.

Why it's important

Madrid has set a goal of 62 gigawatts by the end of this decade, which is double what it currently has.

Sicre stated that this is an "enormous task" considering Spain has only added 607 megawatts in the last year and around 1 GW to date.

KEY QUOTES

Sicre stated, "We need to get more wind faster and with a higher volume."

She said that while the slow rate of new capacity addition is due to a number of factors, the "most important" is the speed at which we experienced the granting of permits, mainly between 2020-2022. This has been insufficient.

She added that the sector has also been affected by social opposition and uncertainty over the growth of electricity demand, which have pushed prices up, as well as pressures on prices from regions such Galicia.

CONTEXT

The wind is an important energy source for decarbonising the Spanish economy and that of Europe. This year, wind has generated more electricity than any other source in the country, with over 22%.

Experts warn that Spain could miss its wind target if it does not address local opposition and licensing bottlenecks which have hindered the deployment of wind farms. (Reporting and editing by Andrei Khalip, Jan Harvey, and Pietro Lombardi)

(source: Reuters)