The BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2017 yearbook has just been launched offering encouraging data for the entire renewable energy sector. According to data from this study, renewables grew by 14.1% in 2016, while nuclear energy only grew by 1.3% and corresponded only with the plants created in China.
Wind energy accounted for more than half of this remarkable growth, while solar energy accounted for a third of it. The energy provided by hydropower, catalogued differently from the rest of renewables, has also increased this year by 2.8%, the equivalent of 27.1 million tons of oil. China and the United States captain the total contribution to the amount of power generated by these methods, although they are also two of the most polluting countries.
On the other hand, both oil and natural gas are experiencing their own crisis, with very low growths and falling prices -which, despite this, does not affect the end user. Regarding the former, BP itself states that, due to the increase in renewables and their potential, it is “unlikely that there will be a considerable increase in the price of oil in the short and medium term”.
Thus, we find a global mix of energy production where oil and gas continue to contribute 57.4% of power (33.3% and 24.1% respectively), while coal receives 28.1%. This leaves us with 6.9% of electricity generation from hydropower, followed by 4.5% from nuclear and 3.2% from renewables.
Spain’s commitment to the renewable sector
In the case of our country, renewable energies have established themselves well and are already an indispensable part of its electricity production. So much so that, according to the study Renewable energies in the Spanish electricity system 2016,, launched by Red Eléctrica Española (REE), between 2007 and 2013 Spain saw its generation of clean energy increased by 100%. All of this, the study underlines, in spite of the electrical reform carried out by the Government in 2012.
Despite the fact that the installation of new generators has remained practically frozen since 2012, the clean energy infrastructures built up to then allowed more than 40% of the MW/h generated in Spain to be of renewable origin in 2013: 40.4% in 2013, compared to 20.3% in 2007. Thus, by 31 December 2016, renewables accounted for 45% of the energy produced in Spain.
Spain is a country of wind
Establishing a division by sectors, it is wind energy that wins the gold medal with 23,057 MW installed, 47.3% of the total. Next comes hydropower, with 17,025 MW (35.5%) and solar, with almost 7,000 MW (7.9% photovoltaic and 5% thermo-solar, a total of 12.9%). At the end of 2016, Spain produced a total of 47,921 MW of power generated by clean energies, with zero CO2 emissions. The latter is an encouraging figure since, according to REE, emissions derived from electricity generation in 2016 were 63.5 million tonnes of CO2, 18.3% less than in 2015 and 43.1% less than in 2007.
Red Eléctrica has also played its part, whose Control Centre for Renewable Energies has been able to assimilate these almost 50,000 MW generated by renewables. Thus, it has been able to integrate this power with the existing one, which is not an easy task, in order to cover more than 50 million people.
The energy sector’s commitment to renewable energy is in line with the European Union’s efforts to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. One of the objectives self-imposed by the European government is the maxim of Clean Energy, to achieve a production of energy free of coal. Spain is fourth in the ranking of clean energy producers throughout the Union and second if we talk about electricity generation through wind systems.
In Hydraulic and Energy Projects we want to join in producing a cleaner world with fewer emissions. We believe that the future lies in investing in renewables and that is why we offer products and services that produce zero emissions. We are specialists in solar pumping technology, much cheaper and more efficient than that produced by diesel. By means of this technique, we make the pumping of water more effective and maximise savings for the irrigator. If you need an update in your irrigation system, do not hesitate to ask us, from Hydraulic and Energy Projects we will be happy to assist you.
