Installed capacity

The peninsular electricity system moved towards a more sustainable energy model.

As at 31 December 2021, the power generation fleet of the peninsular system had increased by 2.1 % with respect to the previous year and had reached an all-time record with an installed power capacity of 107,784 MW.

In recent years, Red Eléctrica has successfully faced the challenge of integrating a large quota of new renewable power capacity, as a result of the 2017 renewable auctions carried out by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITERD). In 2019, the installed renewable power capacity in the peninsular electricity system increased by 6.4 GW and 4.7 GW in 2020. Similarly, in 2021, renewable installed power capacity increased by an additional 4.2 GW, bringing the total of installed renewable power capacity up to 63.2 GW in the peninsular electricity system. This represents a total installed power capacity of 58.7 %. The integration of this new renewable capacity, mostly wind and solar photovoltaic, represents a strong boost to the energy transition and furthermore complies with the integration roadmap set out in Spain’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), with a 2030 horizon.

The power generation fleet on the mainland is increasingly renewable due to the increase in 2021 of installed wind power capacity, 2.8 %, solar photovoltaic, 30 % and renewable waste, 10.8 %, compared to 2020.

With regard to wind power, noteworthy was the 2.8 % increase in installed power capacity registered during 2021, so wind power continued to be the generation technology with the most installed power capacity nationwide, with a total of 27,772 MW and represented more than a quarter of all the installed power capacity in the mainland electricity system.

Thus, in 2021, the installed power capacity of solar photovoltaic was the one that increased the most, incorporating almost 3,500 MW to the peninsular power generation fleet representing 13.8 % of the mainland total.

On the other hand, installed non-renewable power capacity in the peninsular system decreased by 4.3 %, as a result of the 35.9 % reduction in installed coal-fired power capacity due to the definitive closure of thermal unit 4 of the Lada power station, thermal units 1 and 2 of the Litoral de Almería power station and thermal units 2 and 3 of the Narcea power station, which combined represent a reduction of 1,969 MW of installed non-renewable power capacity on the mainland.

On the other hand, installed non-renewable power capacity in the peninsular system decreased by 4.3 %, as a result of the 35.9 % reduction in installed coal-fired power capacity due to the definitive closure in January, unit 4 (348 MW) of the Lada power station located in Langreo (Asturias), in February, units 2 (154 MW) and 3 (347 MW) of the Narcea power station located in Tineo (Asturias) and in December, units 1 (558 MW) and 2 (562 MW) of the Litoral de Almería power station located in Carboneras (Almería).

As a result, coal represented just 3.3 % of the peninsular installed power capacity at the end of 2021, compared to the 5.2 % share it had in 2020, and continues to be ranked in seventh position in the structure of the entire power generation fleet.

In the non-peninsular systems, there was an increase of 2.9 % in installed power capacity by the end of 2021. This increase is mainly explained by the growth in installed wind power capacity of 19.6 % and solar photovoltaic of 22.7 % with respect to 2020.

In 2021, the installed power capacity of the power generation fleet of the Balearic Islands’ electricity system increased 2.3 %. The installed solar photovoltaic generation capacity in the Balearic Islands in 2021 grew to 149 MW compared to 103 MW in 2020, representing an increase of 44.2 %, the largest increase in renewable installed power capacity in recent years.

In January 2020, units 1 and 2 of the 227 MW Alcudia coal-fired power station in Majorca were definitively decommissioned following the drafting of the pertinent decommissioning report. In addition, according to Order TEC/1258/2019, from 1 January 2020, the operation of units 3 and 4 of the Alcudia power station was limited to 1,500 hours/year until 16 August and to 500 hours/year as of 17 August.

The installed renewable power capacity in the Canary Islands increased in the last year from 652 MW to 761 MW, representing an increase of 16.6 %. This very high increase in installed renewable power capacity in the archipelago, particularly wind power, led to a review of the operating criteria for the electricity systems on the Islands, in order to ensure the integration of energy under safe conditions for the Canary Islands' electricity systems. Specifically, the increase in installed power capacity was a result of the growth of 19.7 % in wind power and a 9.5 % rise in solar photovoltaic.

The installed wind power capacity on the Canary Islands grew from 467 MW in 2020 to 560 MW in 2021 and is the second source of generation ahead of gas turbines, diesel engines and steam turbines. By 31 December 2021, wind power represented 17.7 % of the installed power capacity in the island system (15.3 % in 2020).

In Spain as a whole, which includes the peninsular and non-peninsular systems, installed power capacity increased by 2.1 % compared to the previous year, closing 2021 at 113,156 MW. Renewable energy facilities account for 56.7 % of the total installed power capacity nationwide.

Breakdown of installed power capacity as at 31.12.2021

MW - %

Variations in power capacity of conventional generation facilities

MW

Evolution of the installed power capacity structure

Among the most relevant aspects of Installed capacity during 2021 by autonomous community, the following are noteworthy:

• The boost to the green transition in Andalusia has been possible thanks to the progressive renewable transformation of its power generation fleet. For yet another year, in 2021 it was the autonomous community with the second highest renewable installed power capacity in Spain, reaching a total of 8,609 MW of green energy, surpassed only by Castilla y León. Thus, half of the Andalusian power generation fleet is already renewable (51.3 %). In 2021, Andalusia added 374 new MW of solar photovoltaic and 44 new MW of wind power and decommissioned 1,120 MW of coal-fired capacity.
  The development of solar thermal in Andalusia is particularly noteworthy as it has 1,000 MW in service, and therefore it continues to be the leading region for this technology in Spain, accounting for 43.4 % of the national total.
• 2021 was the first year in the history of Aragón in which coal disappeared from the generation mix as it no longer has installed power capacity in the region.
• In Asturias installed power capacity, which reached 3,800 MW at the end of the year, fell by 15.8 % in 2021, due to the decommissioning of 850 MW of coal power capacity. Wind power, on the other hand, increased its capacity in 2021 with 139 new MW.
• In 2021, Castilla-La Mancha consolidated its position as the community with the third largest renewable installed power capacity (8,140 MW), only surpassed by Castilla y León and Andalusia.
  Wind power is the technology with the largest production capacity in Castilla-La Mancha, with more than 4,000 MW, representing a share of 38.6 % of the total. For its part, solar photovoltaic, with 1,035 new MW installed during 2021, is the technology that has most increased its presence in the region’s power generation fleet, 53.3 % more than the previous year. Castilla-La Mancha is the region with the second largest share of solar photovoltaic capacity in Spain, accounting for 19.6 % of the total installed power capacity nationwide.
• 2021 was the first time ever in Castilla y León in which coal disappeared from the generation mix as it no longer has installed power capacity in the region
  Thus, the power generation fleet of Castilla y León reached 12,486 MW last year, of which 95.4 % is renewable, the highest installed capacity figure in Spain. Wind power, with 51.1 % of the total, is the technology with the greatest presence in the region and solar photovoltaic is the technology that has registered the greatest increase, putting 174 new MW into service and increasing its generation capacity by 20.5% with respect to 2020.
• In Catalonia at the close of 2021 renewables accounted for 30.3 % of installed power capacity in the region.
• Extremadura has reconfirmed its national leadership in solar photovoltaic energy in 2021, both in terms of installed power capacity and electricity generation. Last year, it installed more than 1,300 new MW of this technology, 51 % more than the previous year. Thus, the region closed the year with more than 3,879 MW in service, the largest installed photovoltaic capacity in the country.
  All this data gives the region a predominant position at a national level in the energy transition process. This is possible thanks to the spectacular transformation of its power generation fleet. By year-end, 77.8 % of its installed power capacity was renewable. In total, more than 7,000 MW of green power, an increase of 22.7 % compared to the previous year.
• In Galicia renewables installed power capacity now account for 7,717 MW and 70.5 % of the total Galician power generation fleet.
• In the Balearic Islands efforts to advance in the green transition are also reflected in the increase in renewable production capacity: at the end of the year, the Balearic Islands had a total of 149 MW solar photovoltaic capacity installed, 44.2 % more than in 2020. In this way, renewable capacity accounted for 9.4 % of the total Balearic Islands’ power generation fleet in 2021.
• In the Canary Islands installed power capacity increased by 3.6 % thanks to the commissioning of 108 new MW of renewable power, 92 MW of wind and 16 MW of solar photovoltaic. Thus, green energies already represent 24.1 % of the Canary Islands' power generation fleet.

Installed power capacity as at 31.12.2021 – Broken down by autonomous community (region)

MW

Installed power capacity structure broken down by autonomous community (region) and type of power station