GENERATION
Installed capacity
Information based on provisional data as of January 2023
As of December 31, 2022, the power generation capacity of the Spanish electrical system, which includes the peninsular system and non-peninsular systems, has increased by 4.9% compared to the previous year and has reached a historic record with an installed capacity of 119,091 MW.
The renewable installed capacity in the Spanish electrical system increased by 4.9 GW in 2020 and by 4.6 GW in 2021. Likewise, in 2022 the installed renewable capacity has increased by an additional 5.9 GW, which has allowed reaching an installed capacity of renewable generation sources of 70.5 GW in the Spanish electrical system. This represents 59.2% of the total installed capacity. The integration of this new renewable capacity, mostly wind and photovoltaic solar, represents a strong boost to the energy transition and to the fulfillment of the integration path established in the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), with a 2030 horizon.
In the peninsular electrical system, the power generation fleet is also increasingly cleaner because in 2022 there was an increase in installed renewable capacity of 9.1% compared to the previous year.
It highlights the 4.9% increase in installed wind power experienced during the year 2022, which continues to be the generation technology with the most installed capacity on the peninsula, with a total of 29,417 MW and representing more than a quarter of all installed capacity in the peninsular electricity system.
Throughout the past 2022, the installed photovoltaic solar capacity has been the one that has increased the most in the peninsular electrical system, adding around 4,400 MW to the generation park. During the year 2022, photovoltaic solar has managed to surpass hydroelectric power, currently ranking as the third generation source in terms of capacity since it represents 17.0% of the total installed peninsular capacity.
On the contrary, non-renewable peninsular power has decreased by 0.8%, mainly as a result of the reduction in installed coal capacity by 8.5% due to the definitive shutdown, following the official closure record, in August of the 300 MW Puente Nuevo power plant located in Espiel (Córdoba).
In this way, coal represented 2.8% of the total installed capacity on the peninsula at the end of 2022, compared to the 3.3% it had in 2021, and it ranks eighth in the structure of the generating park.
In the non-peninsular systems, there has been an increase of 2.2% in installed capacity at the end of 2022. This increase is mainly explained by the growth of installed wind power by 2.4% and photovoltaic solar power by 31.4% compared to the year 2021.
The generating park of the electrical system of the Balearic Islands experienced an increase in installed capacity of 3.5% in 2022, explained by a growth of 37.3% in installed renewable capacity. At the end of 2022, installed renewable capacity accounted for 12.6% of the Balearic generating park, thus doubling its share from 2019. The installed photovoltaic solar generation capacity in the Balearic Islands has grown to 225 MW from 152 MW in 2021, representing an increase of 47.9% over the year 2022.
In the Canary Islands, the installed renewable generation capacity has increased over the last year from 757 MW to 802 MW, which represents an increase of 6.0%. This growth has allowed the installed renewable capacity in the Canary Islands to represent a quarter of the entire Canary generation park at the end of 2022. Specifically, the increase in installed capacity has occurred in wind power with a growth of 2.4% and in photovoltaic solar with 17.5%.
The installed solar photovoltaic power in the Canary Islands has grown from 181 MW in 2021 to 212 MW in 2022 and ranks as the sixth source of generation in the Canary mix. As of December 31, 2022, solar photovoltaic power represents 6.6% of the installed capacity in the island system (5.7% in 2021).
Installed capacity 12/31/2022
MW - %
Wind: Includes onshore wind and offshore wind.
Other renewables: Includes biogas, biomass, marine energy and geothermal.
Power variations in conventional generator sets
MW
| Groups | Type | Date | Power (MW) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puente Nuevo | Coal | Aug-2022 | 300 |
| Total peninsular decommissioning | 300 | ||
| Peninsular balance | -300 | ||
| Formentera auxiliaries | Generator sets | Jul-2022 | 13 |
| Total Balearic Islands commissioning | 13 | ||
| Formentera auxiliaries | Generator sets | Oct-2022 | 13 |
| Total Balearic Islands decommissioning | 13 | ||
| Non-peninsular balance | 0 | ||
| National balance | -300 |
Evolución de la estructura de potencia eléctrica instalada
Evolution of installed renewable power capacity
Evolution of installed power capacity with or without CO2 eqiv. emissions
The most relevant aspects of the installed power capacity by autonomous communities in 2022 include the following:
- In 2022, Andalusia was the third community with the highest installed renewable power capacity in Spain, with a total of 9,811 MW of green power, surpassed only by Castile and Leon and Castile-La Mancha. Thus, 55.5 % of the Andalusian generation fleet is renewable. During 2022, Andalusia was the second community with the greatest increase in solar photovoltaic power capacity, adding 1,123 MW of new capacity and accounting for 21.0 % of the national total. Consequently, solar photovoltaic has become the second technology in the Andalusian generation fleet, with a share of 23.6 %. In addition, 300 MW of coal have been decommissioned.
- In Aragon, renewable energies now represent 75.6 % of the total installed power capacity. It was the second community with the largest increase in wind power capacity in 2022, with an increase of 352 MW, which meant that wind power continues to be the leading technology in Aragon's mix, accounting for 46.2 % of installed power capacity.
- In Asturias, the installed renewable power capacity, which reached 1,595 MW at the end of the year, increased by 2.6 % in 2022 due to the addition of 40 MW of new wind power capacity.
- Castile-La Mancha has been the region where more renewable power capacity has been installed in 2022, with a total of 1,619 MW of new capacity, reaching the second position in the ranking of installed renewable power capacity (9,865 MW), only surpassed by Castile and Leon. Besides, it is the region with the second largest share of renewable power capacity in our country, accounting for 14.0 % of the total installed power capacity in Spain. This growth in renewables can be attributed, on the one hand, to the installation of 553 MW of wind power capacity in 2022, marking the largest increase in this technology in the whole country. In addition, solar photovoltaic, with 1,066 new MW installed in 2022, is the technology that has experienced the greatest share increase in La Mancha's generation fleet, 35.7 % more than in the previous year.
- Castile and Leon continues to record the highest figures for installed renewable power capacity in Spain, with 12,554 MW, representing 95.6 % of its generation fleet. This community accounts for 17.8 % of all renewable power in the Spanish electricity system. Wind power, with a share of 50.4 % of the total, is the technology with the greatest presence in the region, and solar photovoltaic is the one that has registered the greatest increase, putting into service 404 new MW (more than double the amount in 2021) and increasing its generation capacity by 39.1 % with respect to 2021.
- At the end of 2022, renewable energies in Catalonia accounted for 30.9 % of the installed power capacity in the region, with hydro and wind power accounting for 16.1 % and 11.4 %, respectively.
- At the end of the year, 80.8 % of the installed power capacity in Extremadura was renewable, compared to 77.7 % in 2021. In total, more than 8,500 MW of green power were generated, representing an increase of 20.9 % compared to the previous year and making it the second fastest-growing region in terms of renewable energies.
Extremadura has revalidated its national leadership in installed solar photovoltaic power capacity in 2022. Last year, almost 1,500 new MW of this technology were installed, 38.3 % more than the previous year. Thus, the region closed the year with 5,347 MW in service, the largest installed solar photovoltaic power capacity in the country. - In Galicia, installed renewable power capacity now totals 7,725 MW and represents 70.6 % of the entire Galician generation fleet.
- The Balearic Islands have seen the greatest percentage variation in renewable power capacity, with an increase of 37.3 % over the previous year. At the end of the year, it had a total of 225 MW of installed solar photovoltaic power capacity, 47.9 % more than in 2021. Accordingly, renewable power capacity accounted for 12.6 % of the total Balearic Islands power generation capacity in 2022, compared to 9.5 % in 2021.
- In the Canary Islands, installed power capacity has increased by 6.0 % thanks to the commissioning of 45 new MW of renewable power, 14 MW of wind, and 32 MW of solar photovoltaic. Thus, green energies now account for 25.1 % of the Canary Islands' generation fleet.