Spain proposes doubling of renewable energy capacity

Spain is hedging its bets on renewable energy sources as a means to revive its recession-hit economy – with a proposal to more than double production from clean energy to over 20 per cent of total energy use by 2020.

According to Reuters reports, the Spanish government is seeking cross-party consensus on its plans to turn a record 3.6 per cent decline in the economy in 2009 into 2.9 per cent growth in 2012, driven in large part by investment in more renewable energy capacity.

An Economy Ministry document outlining plans to revive the flailing economy predicts renewables production by 2020 would increase to the equivalent of 27.9m tonnes of petroleum, up from 11.96m tonnes in 2009. The move would see Spain fractionally exceed EU targets for renewable energy generation.

Outlining the case for increased investment in renewable energy, the document stated: "We face a high degree of energy dependence, high price volatility in international energy markets and the challenges of climate change."

Under the plan, the Spanish government predicts that renewable energy sources would have a 22.7 per cent share of total energy generation by 2020, up from 12.5 per cent in 2009. Most of the increase is expected to come from Spain's burgeoning wind and solar power sectors.

However, the head of Spanish grid operator Red Electrica warned in a separate Reuters interview that a boost in the number of electric cars and increased power links with France to deal with fluctuations in wind output are essential to support the planned increase in renewable energy capacity.

Spain's wind turbines have at times this winter supplied more than half of the country's energy requirements; however, insufficient grid connections prevented much of the energy from reaching the rest of Europe.

As a result, Red Electrica had to shut down some turbines in the early hours of December 30 2009, as wet and windy weather caused a surge in green electricity generation at a time of very low demand.

"The bottleneck is the French network, but it's really about being connected to the whole European system," Red Electrica president Luis Atienza told Reuters. "The bigger the system the more stable it is and the greater the capacity to compensate for the variability of any of its component parts."

Public opposition to new electricity lines across the Pyrenees and a lack of French enthusiasm for the proposals mean that transmission capacity between France and Spain has remained unchanged since 1982.

But now the first new grid connection between France and Spain in nearly three decades is due to be built from early next year and will double the existing transmission capacity, although it will still be nowhere near enough to manage the swings in wind power output Red Electrica has to cope with.

Meanwhile, the development of smart grids within Spain and the roll out of greater numbers of electric cars that can charge overnight could help manage some of the extra green energy output in the years ahead.

"Apart from improving our energy security by displacing oil, improving the air quality of our cities and reducing noise pollution, the electric car is very complimentary to our bet on renewable energy," Atienza said.