Spain meets European targets for renewables and energy efficiency in 2020

Spain was supposed to cover 20% of final energy demand with renewables and has comfortably surpassed this figure, reaching 21.2%, both due to the increase in clean energy production and the reduction in demand caused by the health crisis.

In the case of energy efficiency, the EU target of 20% has also been significantly exceeded, achieving 35.4%.

The following table summarises the sectoral renewable energy and energy efficiency figures achieved in 2020, together with the European targets committed in each case:

Renewable growth path

For 2020, the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption was 21.22%, exceeding the 20% target set for Spain in the Renewables Directive. The graph below shows how the country has surpassed the penetration path foreseen by EU regulations over the past decade.

The share of renewable electricity has increased from 37.13% to 42.94%. Among the factors contributing to this increase was the remarkable 10.1% growth in renewable generation compared to the previous year, combined with a 4.81% decrease in gross demand. These results consolidate the decarbonisation path of the electricity generation sector, which for the second consecutive year has broken records in emissions reductions.

The share of renewables in final energy consumption for transport increased from 7.61% to 9.54%. This growth was contributed to by the fall in demand, as well as by the policy of promoting biofuels in road transport, which has boosted the growth of this objective in recent years.

The share of renewables in heating and cooling has increased from 17.20% to 17.97%, mainly due to reduced demand.

Energy efficiency target

The energy efficiency targets committed to by Spain to the European Union are established in the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2021-2030, both in primary energy (PEC) and final energy (FEC), minus non-energy uses.

By 2020, the primary energy reduction percentage (PEC) reached 35.4%, far exceeding Spain's pledged target of 20%, mainly due to the lower economic activity resulting from the pandemic.

Primary energy consumption in Spain in 2020 was 110,847 ktoe, a 12.0% reduction compared to 2019. Final energy consumption, on the other hand, experienced a 13.4% decrease compared to 2019, to a total of 79,436 ktoe.

The Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) submitted the information regarding the renewables target and the transport target - both established in the Renewables Directive - to EUROSTAT on 7 December.

The calculation of Spain's energy efficiency targets and energy balance for 2020 is based on the information contained in the annual questionnaires on solid fossil fuels and manufactured gases, nuclear energy, natural gas, electricity and heat, oil and petroleum products, renewable energy and energy from waste, submitted to EUROSTAT and the International Energy Agency on 25 November.

Non official translation