Spain ramps up 2030 renewables and green hydrogen goals
Council of Ministers approved plan to raise wind power to 62GW and more than double solar
Spain's government has approved an updated National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) through this decade which sets more ambitious emissions and renewables targets in line with Europe-wide 2050 guidelines and commitments.
Under the new blueprint, renewables would generate 48% of total power consumption, up by 6% from the previous guidelines released in 2021.
The new targets include almost doubling solar installations to 76GW from 39GW, while boosting wind power from 50GW to 62GW, and sets the nation’s first offshore wind goal of 3GW.
“The Spanish wind sector, with 100% of the value chain located in our country, is a fundamental pillar for economic growth, the creation of qualified employment and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” Spain’s Wind Industry Association (AEE) said in a statement.
“To achieve these objectives, it is necessary to accelerate the current pace of processing and installation of wind technology, with development that is linear, agile and orderly.”
Spain’s government has been slow to make its plans for wind at sea more concrete, and building wind farms off its coast is more expensive than in northern Europe as its coastal waters are very deep – both in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic – making less mature floating wind the technology of choice.
Green hydrogen
The revised PNIEC also triples capacity of electrolysers for green hydrogen production to 12GW that are “essential for the decarbonisation of industrial sectors that are difficult to electrify and for heavy transport,” the government said.
Ramped green hydrogen targets further the nation’s commitment to becoming a “nerve centre for the export of this technology within Europe,” the statement added, which includes creation of the Iberian Hydrogen Corridor (H2MED) infrastructure development plan.
(Copyright)