Spain Shoots for 67 Percent More Renewable Energy by 2020
The Spanish government has plans to increase renewable energy production by 67 percent before 2020. This is especially ambitious given that Spain plans to continue cutting subsidies for wind and solar power, the two technologies providing the bulk of expected renewable gains over the next decade.
In a draft proposal on its way to the European Commission, Spain proposes that renewable generation capacity increase to 70 gigawatts by 2020, up from 42 gigawatts currently. Solar power will grow by nearly 300 percent from 4.7 GW to 13.4 GW. Wind power will nearly double to 38 GW from today’s 20.2 GW, including approximately 3 gigawatts from new offshore wind farms.
The plan would put Spain beyond the European Union goal of 20-percent renewable energy by 2020. If successful, Spain will be producing 23 percent of its overall energy and 40 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by the end of the decade.
Despite cuts, Spain’s subsidy structure still enables renewable power producers to earn up to 10 times more than fossil fuel producers for their energy. However, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero plans to continue incremental cuts in those subsidies. He believes that his country’s goals will be obtained through increased private investment. The Industry Minister, Miguel Sebastian, is scheduled to meet with executives of renewable energy companies over the next week as he prepares a final proposal for cutting subsidies.
Here in the United States, where we have no national renewable energy goal, let alone an energy mandate, Spain’s plans may seem especially ambitious. But their 70-GW expectations are actually lower than the 75-GW goal discussed earlier this year. A section in the American Power Act, the last attempt by U.S. Congress at climate change legislation, would reduce carbon emissions 20 percent by 2020, but sets no national goal or mandate for renewable energy generation specifically (although increased renewable generation is implicit in any carbon reduction). Over 30 U.S. states, however, have adopted their own renewable energy standards or goals.
Source: BusinessWeek
Photo Credit: Huffington Post
Posted on June 17th in Solar News by Dan.
June 20th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
I believe islands like Haiti can be fully powered with renewable and affordable energy: If Haiti can, Spain can also!
The entire world needs clean and affordable energy sources…. why has the information about their availability been hidden from the public?
I am not denying third world and developing nations the right to live with a far better, cleaner and more modern standard of living. I am asking you to get your mind around the volume of fuels – beyond my own meager comprehension – that would be required to sustain such development – and then to try and calculate the amount of chemical emissions spewing into Earth’s atmosphere.
Currently, many different sources of ‘cleaner fuels’ are being developed around the world. The hope seems to be that in time, these alternative sources will take over from some of our reliance on fossil fuels, which contribute to pollution and sickness. They are not inexpensive, and neither are they the complete answer to a worldwide need for a clean, renewable and affordable, alternative energy source.
There are other sources, not currently being discussed in the public forum.
June 25th, 2010 at 4:56 am
[...] Spain Shoots for 67 Percent More Renewable Energy Spain Shoots for 67 Percent More Renewable Energy by 2020 The Spanish government has plans to increase renewable energy production by 67 percent before 2020. This is especially ambitious given that Spain plans to continue cutting subsidies for wind and solar power, the two technologies providing the bulk of expected renewable gains over the next decade. In a draft proposal on its way to the European Commission, Spain proposes that renewable generation capacity increase to 70 gigawatts by 2020, up from 42 gigawatts currently. Solar power will grow by nearly 300 percent from 4.7 GW to 13.4 GW. Wind power will nearly double to 38 GW from today’s 20.2 GW, including approximately 3 gigawatts from new offshore wind farms. [...]