Installed capacity

Hydro is the third largest renewable source on the peninsula, coming after wind and solar photovoltaic

Hydro has traditionally been the main renewable source in Spain, until it was overtaken by wind in 2009 and by solar photovoltaic in 2022. It is the third largest renewable source in terms of installed capacity, with a total of 17,097 MW at the end of 2023. As can be observed, its capacity has remained practically unchanged; it would be necessary to go back to 2012 to find an increase of over 1 %. During 2023, it has only increased by 2.4 MW. Hydro represents 13.7 % of the total installed capacity, which ranks as the fourth technology behind wind, combined cycle, and solar photovoltaic.

Annual evolution of installed hydropower capacity

By autonomous community, Castile and Leon is the community with the most installed hydro capacity, with 25.7 % of the total national capacity, given that this region is the exclusive home of the Duero basin, the second largest in the Iberian Peninsula. It is followed by Galicia with 21.8 % of the national total, bringing together a large part of the northern area, which is the largest in terms of installed capacity and also includes Asturias, Cantabria and part of the Basque Country.

Five communities account for almost 80 % of the total domestic installed capacity, including, in addition to those mentioned above, Extremadura, Catalonia, and Aragon.

Installed hydropower capacity at December 31, 2023

Geographical distribution of hydropower facilities on the peninsula at December 31, 2023

Hydropower of each autonomous community as a proportion of national hydropower