Between dreams and realities of Spain

[NCSH]

We were talking about Portugal above.
The 2023 figures are indeed very good:
Renouvelables 61% (25%éolien,23%hydro,7%PV,6%biomasse
Non-renewable19%
But still 20% imports is a lot.
https://www.connaissancedesenergies.org ... gal-240102

The main reason for this large deficit is of a structural nature: since 2019, Spain and Portugal have almost stopped producing electricity from coal, Spain still retains a remainder of power plants in reserve (or reserve strategic in case of a hard blow).
For this, see the annual data since 2015 on installed powers in Energy Chart.

However, nothing has been planned to absorb this "hole" in Portugal, which will therefore take at least 5 more years, therefore 2029, to be absorbed.
In the meantime, it is imports from Spain which provide the link, proof if there is one of the interest of trade in interconnected markets.
The deployment of wind power and PV continues, especially in Spain for wind power, with more and more "re-powering".

[sicetaitsimple]

We were talking about Portugal above.
The 2023 figures are indeed very good:
Renouvelables 61% (25%éolien,23%hydro,7%PV,6%biomasse
Non-renewable19%
But still 20% imports is a lot.
https://www.connaissancedesenergies.org ... gal-240102

The main reason for this large deficit is of a structural nature: since 2019, Spain and Portugal have almost stopped producing electricity from coal, Spain still retains a remainder of power plants in reserve (or reserve strategic in case of a hard blow).
For this, see the annual data since 2015 on installed powers in Energy Chart.

However, nothing has been planned to absorb this "hole" in Portugal, which will therefore take at least 5 more years, therefore 2029, to be absorbed.
In the meantime, it is imports from Spain which provide the link, proof if there is one of the interest of trade in interconnected markets.
The deployment of wind power and PV continues, especially in Spain for wind power, with more and more "re-powering".

Yes.
The "novelty" of last week (but I cannot find an "official" source) is that the recent Spanish government has announced an exit from nuclear power between 2027 and 2035, i.e. on average around one reactor of 900/1000MW less per year. Nuclear which today produces around 20% of Spanish electricity.
If that's the case, it's going to be quite a hole.

[NCSH]

A priori, the Iberian Peninsula is the very example of a geographical entity in a temperate climate which could already take the plunge of such an immediate abandonment of base production hitherto ensured by nuclear power.

Indeed, Spain has accumulated significant natural gas production capacities, i.e. combined cycles with high thermodynamic efficiency,
essential to compensate for the high variability of production that is more than 80% renewable, of which nearly 75% is intermittent, i.e. the ultimate objective.
No less than 30 GW in Spain, nearly 35 GW with Portugal, or for 56 million inhabitants, more than 600W/inhabitant, at the same level as the objective declared by the Germans (50 to 60 GW for more than 80 Mhab ) to achieve their ultimate goal.

This is what an electricity mix in Western Europe could look like, with a strong preponderance of renewables, thanks to wind power, covering up to 40 or even 50% of annual production (and 20 to 25% of PV), i.e. up to double the levels reached until then (Germany, Iberian Peninsula, British Islands, etc.).
From the British Islands, to the depths of the Baltic, including Poland, could be on this same dominant model, including nuclear power on base in France, GB, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Finland.

It goes without saying that fossil natural gas will have to be replaced by hydrogen, or even by non-fossil methane if possible, because it is much easier and less expensive to store (underground inter-seasonal storage: energy density at 200 bar 4 times higher, 5 times less expensive).
And therefore, massive presence of high-power electrolysers coupled to the network to absorb excess power which will not be able to "pass" through the electrical network.
And in addition, daily type storage (STEP + electric batteries of different types).

[izentrop]

The "novelty" of last week (but I cannot find an "official" source) is that the recent Spanish government has announced an exit from nuclear power between 2027 and 2035, i.e. on average around one reactor of 900/1000MW less per year. Nuclear which today produces around 20% of Spanish electricity.
If that's the case, it's going to be quite a hole.

No problem, we'll sell it to them like the Belgians and the Germans

[sicetaitsimple]

The "novelty" of last week (but I cannot find an "official" source) is that the recent Spanish government has announced an exit from nuclear power between 2027 and 2035, i.e. on average around one reactor of 900/1000MW less per year. Nuclear which today produces around 20% of Spanish electricity.
If that's the case, it's going to be quite a hole.

No problem, we'll sell it to them like the Belgians and the Germans

At the end of 5 years, it is really not easy to predict. By then, a lot of things will have changed in the electrical landscape, and not just in Spain and France. We can sell German electricity in Spain, it "just" needs to be taken across France...

[sicetaitsimple]

The "novelty" of last week (but I cannot find an "official" source) is that the recent Spanish government has announced an exit from nuclear power between 2027 and 2035, i.e. on average around one reactor of 900/1000MW less per year. Nuclear which today produces around 20% of Spanish electricity.
If that's the case, it's going to be quite a hole.

No problem, we'll sell it to them like the Belgians and the Germans

At the end of 5 years, it is really not easy to predict. By then, a lot of things will have changed in the electrical landscape, and not just in Spain and France. We can sell German electricity in Spain, it "just" needs to be taken across France...

To illustrate, but in the other direction, today around 14:00 p.m. France imported around 3000MW from Spain and exported more than 7000MW to Germany + Belgium.
https://www.rte-france.com/eco2mix/les- ... frontieres