January becomes the most renewable month in Spain's history

The 2023 start-up set a record for the share of renewable energy in electricity generation, making January the most renewable month so far

January 2023 will go down in history, we shall see for how long, as the most renewable month in the history of Spain. According to data provided by Red Eléctrica, renewable generation sources were responsible for producing 57.4 % of the total electricity generated during that month in the country, reaching a historic milestone of 13,742 GWh. The reason behind all this is the constant commissioning of new renewable production plants, mainly wind and photovoltaic, which allow the country’s wind and sun conditions to be exploited; something that has been combined with the irruption of technologies that do not emit CO₂ equivalents.

All in all, January saw 25 consecutive days in which green energy prevailed over non-renewable energy, with the 27th being the day with the highest share of green energy (587 GWh representing almost 65 % of the total energy mix on that day), as well as the day with the highest amount of emission-free electricity with 757 GWh generated to reach 84.7 % of the total.

Wind energy as the major contributor

The meteorological conditions at the beginning of the year have favoured wind energy to become the main contributor to this renewable energy milestone. All in all, the most renewable month in Spain’s history has seen energy produced by wind power contribute 31.5 % of the total national electricity production; experiencing a year-on-year growth of 39 % with respect to 2022 and reaching 7,537 GWh. Thus, on more than half of the days in January, wind was the main source of electricity in the country, even exceeding 50 % of the total electricity mix on two days.