Spanish wind power output hits peak of 45% of demand

Spain’s wind power output reached a new peak of 45.1% of total demand during the early hours of 5 November, grid operator Red Electrica de Espana (REE) said.

ind power supplied over 40% of demand for several hours between 00.20 and 06.20 in the morning, the first time that this has happened, REE said.

The new peak beat a previous high of 43% reached in November.

“There have been several peaks over 40% in Spain, but this one – lasting nearly six hours compared to around one hour the previous time – shows the huge part that wind capacity can play in meeting Spain’s electricity demand,” said Jacopo Moccia, regulatory affairs advisor for the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

Much of the power produced was directed into pumped hydro facilities, allowing it to be used during peak consumption hours during the day. The question of storage has become increasingly important for the Spanish energy sector, as the system faces the growing problem of dealing with wind power intermittency.

The Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE) said that the surge shows that wind power “is no longer marginal”. Spain is expected to more than double its wind power capacity from the current level of 16 GW to 40 GW in 2020.

“With this expected growth in capacity we could envisage wind meting the vast majority of demand during times of peak supply,” said Moccia. On average, wind power currently meets around 12% of Spanish electricity demand.