The wind blows from the face. The storms ‘Gérard’ and ‘Fien’ have left a January of strong winds and, as usual, it has been noticed in electricity generation, to such an extent that the wind contribution has skyrocketed by 36%, up to 7,400 gigawatt hours (GWh). , compared to the same month last year, and gas plants have set minimums in almost two years.
Red Eléctrica’s estimates show that the combined cycles have generated around 2,600 GWh of electricity in the first month of the year, which represents a strong year-on-year decrease of 57%. We must go back to May 2021 to verify a similar figure (2,445 GWh). If the data is compared with December 2022, the drop is 42%, according to the numbers compiled by La Información.
This lower contribution occurs after wind power has come to cover some days close to 60% of electricity demand. We must also add the increase in hydraulics, which has almost tripled in recent months after the rains have raised the water reserve to 51% of its capacity. In this context, in some week of the month, the gas combined cycles have barely intervened in the energy mix.
Cycles reigned in 2022
It should not be forgotten that we have left behind a year in which gas plants operated at full capacity and were the first electricity production technology in the country, accounting for 24.7% of the mix. In total, they generated some 68,138 GWh, 53% more than in 2021, surpassing nuclear and wind power by 12,154 and 6,962 GWh, respectively. In summer there was the perfect storm: heat wave, lack of wind and water and a greater export to France due to the cap on gas.
To get an idea, in Spain 8,710 GWh of electricity were generated by gas in July, a figure not recorded to date, while August also exceeded 8,000 GWh and in September and October the level remained at 7,000 GWh. This will mean that the combined cycles will burn gas like never before and that CO2 emissions from the electrical system will increase last year after reaching a minimum in 2021, despite the recovery in demand after covid-19.
In this way, 2022 ended with a demand for natural gas by electricity companies of 138,037 GWh, which translates into an increase of 52.7% compared to the previous course and the highest value since 2010. To understand each other, it is the gas that they burned to generate the more than 68,000 GWh of electricity mentioned above.
For their part, renewables have now obtained that the price of electricity in the wholesale market closes this January at its lowest level in the last 20 months, after registering an average of 70.8 euros per megawatt hour (MWh). In general, clean sources have concentrated close to 60% of electricity generation, with peaks of up to 70% on certain days.
Renewable energies are the path to decarbonisation and in Spain they already account for more than half of the installed electrical power. According to Red Eléctrica, the ‘green’ sources of national generation.
10,000 million savings
Wind and solar generated a fifth (22%) of the EU’s electricity in 2022, surpassing gas for the first time (20%), according to the European Electricity Review report, published by the energy think tank Ember. . Specifically, photovoltaics was the one that increased the most, with a record of 39 terawatt hours (TWh), 24% more than in 2021, which helped to avoid 10,000 million euros in gas costs. The study highlights that up to 20 EU countries will follow new solar energy records in 2022.
It will also highlight that in 2023 the European transition to wind and solar power will accelerate in response to the energy crisis and French hydroelectric and nuclear power will recover. As a consequence, Ember estimates that fossil fuel generation could plunge 20% this year.
“Europe’s clean energy transition emerges from this crisis stronger than ever. European countries not only remain committed to phasing out coal, but are now striving to phase out gas as well. It is rushing towards a clean, electrified economy, and this will become apparent in 2023. Change is fast approaching and everyone needs to be ready,” said Dave Jones, Ember’s Head of Data Insights.
