Total electricity generation

The energy landscape in Spain in 2021 continued to make progress in its recovery after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, electricity generation in the peninsular system, which represents around 95 % of total generation nationwide, increased by 3 % in 2021, reaching 246,805 GWh. The most significant variations with respect to the previous year were recorded by solar photovoltaic generation, which increased by 37.4 %, while nuclear and combined cycle decreased their production by 3.1 % and 2 %, respectively.

The generation of electricity in the non-peninsular systems (13,100 GWh) grew by 10.4 % with respect to the previous year, with a notable increase of 22 % for combined cycle. On the other hand, noteworthy is the fall in coal-fired generation which was 79.9 % lower compared to the previous year.

Electricity generation increases in the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands

Annual electricity production in the non-mainland systems as a whole in 2021 reached 13,100 GWh, 10.4 % higher than in the previous year. The electricity produced in the Balearic Islands increased for the first time after three consecutive years of decreases, reaching 4,637 GWh in 2021, 31.9 % more than the previous year. This is the highest growth since 2007.

Electricity production in the Canary Islands electricity system in 2021 increased by 1.4 % compared to the previous year, reaching 8,061 GWh. In Ceuta and Melilla production fell by 1.2 % and 1.3 %, respectively.

National electrical energy balance (generation mix)

GWh - %

With regard to the overall generation balance, broken down by the type of energy used, renewable energy increased its share in the peninsular electricity generation mix by 9.6 %, reaching a new all-time high with a total share of 48.4 % compared to 45.5 % in 2020, mainly due to significant increases in wind power and solar photovoltaic energy generation. On the other hand, non-renewable energy reduced its share to 51.6 % (54.5 % in 2020).

Evolution of renewable and non-renewable generation

Evolution of electricity generation – with/without CO2 eq. emissions

Significant steps taken by the autonomous communities towards achieving the green transition

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

• Andalusia is one of the regions leading the way in renewable energy in Spain. In 2021, generation from these technologies reached 55 %, the highest annual share recorded to date. With a total of 16,265 GWh, 12.9 % more than in 2020, it became the third region with the highest amount of green GWh produced in 2021, only surpassed by Castilla y León and Galicia.
• 77.4 % of power generation in Aragón in 2021 came from renewable resources, an increase of 20.6 % over the previous year, driven largely by the increase in wind and solar photovoltaic, which produced 40.2 % and 27.7 % more than in 2020, respectively.
  In 2021, Aragón was the Spanish community with the highest proportion of wind generation in its energy mix, with 53.4 %, and it was the second in terms of production from this technology (10,253 GWh).
• In Asturias, 28.6 % of generation was of renewable origin, thanks to the boost of hydro and wind power, two technologies which, with respect to the previous year, increased their production by 14 % and 9.6 %, respectively.
• Castilla-La Mancha is making steady progress in the green transition, and this is reflected in the data: in 2021, 57.9 % of the energy generated in the autonomous community was of renewable origin, with wind power, with 7,681 GWh, being the leading technology and generating 33.2 % of the electricity. Solar photovoltaic increased its generation by 21.5 % compared to the previous year, reaching a share of 16.2 % of the total.
• Castilla y León closed 2021 as the autonomous community with the highest renewable generation in Spain: 24,068 GWh, which accounted for 89.1 % of the region's total production, an all-time maximum share since records began. Both generation and coverage in the mix were the highest figures in Spain in 2021, which consolidated Castilla y León's leadership role in renewable energy nationwide. In 2021, 8.7 % more green energy was produced in the region than in the previous year.
  In 2021, wind power was the leading technology in the generation mix of Castilla y León, contributing almost half of the mix (49.1 %). Thanks to this volume, it was the community that produced the most electricity from wind power (13,255 GWh). Wind is followed by hydro, responsible for 32.4 % and which this year generated 9 % more than in 2020.
• In Catalonia, 17 % of generation came from renewable sources, with hydro, with 8.5 % of the total, being the renewable energy in Catalonia that registered the most GWh in 2021.
• Extremadura has reconfirmed its national leadership in solar photovoltaic energy in 2021, both in terms of installed power capacity and electricity generation. This momentum allowed production from this source to double, reaching a volume of more than 4,900 GWh.
  The progress in photovoltaic energy in Extremadura enabled the region to close the year with a 55.9 % increase in renewable generation compared to 2020 data. In this regard, the share of green energies in the mix stood at 38 %.
• In 2021, 74.3 % of the electricity generated in Galicia came from renewable sources, with wind as the number one source of Galician generation with 39.5 %. It is followed by hydro, which, with 7,692 GWh was the second technology that produced the most, reaching 31.8 % of the total. Production with this technology is very significant with respect to the rest of Spain. In fact, one out of every four GWh of hydroelectric power produced in Spain originates in Galicia. Once again, in 2021 wind and hydroelectric power together accounted for more than 70 % of the region's electricity production.
  The decrease experienced by coal is significant, with a reduction in its generation of 65.8 % with respect to 2020.
• In 2021, the Balearic Islands experienced an important boost in electricity generation from renewable energy, consolidating the practical disappearance of coal in the Balearic Islands’ mix, initiated in 2020, thus confirming its progress in the energy transition. In this context, renewables on the Balearic Islands produced 32.2 % more than in 2020 and beat its annual record of green energy achieving a share of 6.7 % of the total.
  While renewable generation grew, in 2021, the use of coal declined to become a residual energy source: this technology only integrated into the system 1 % of the Balearic Islands’ total. This means a decrease of almost 80 % compared to the previous year, when the drop in the use of coal was already drastic (it only contributed 6.3 % in 2020), due to the hourly limitations established for this type of generation in the archipelago since December 2018 and the reduction of its installed power capacity. At year-end, this technology accounted for only 6.4 % of the Balearic Islands’ power generation fleet.
• In 2021, the Canary Islands generated 15.4 % more renewable energy than in 2020, driven mainly by wind power generation, which reached its annual production peak (1.310 GWh) and accounted for 16.3 % of all electricity in the Canary Islands.
  These maximum values reached in the archipelago allowed renewables to cover almost 20 % of the total, thus demonstrating the progress made in the energy transition in the Islands.

Electricity generation map – per autonomous community

Electricity generation mix broken down by autonomous community and type of power station

Percentage of renewable and non-renewable energy generation per autonomous community