Spain’s commitment to renewable energy may be in doubt

On the outskirts of the sleepy town of Figuehuelas, a single, huge wind turbine spins, casting shadows on nearby buildings.

It's a reminder of the importance of renewable electricity in this windswept region of Aragon in northeastern Spain, whose plains are home to many of the country's wind and solar power plants.

Figuela's status as a symbol of Spain's green transition has been further enhanced recently as work begins on a huge electric vehicle battery plant nearby.

Chinese firm CATL and Netherlands-based Stellantis are investing a total of €4bn ($4.7bn; £3.5bn) in the facility. Yao Jing, China's ambassador to Spain, called it “one of the largest Chinese investments Europe has ever seen.”

Luis Bertol Moreno, the city's mayor, says the area was a logical choice for the project.

“We are in Aragon, where the wind blows all year round, there are many hours of sunshine and we are surrounded by wind turbines and solar panels,” he says.

“Those [energy sources] will be critical to the production of electricity for the new plant, and I understand that this was the main reason for its construction here in Figuelas.”

The plant can be seen as a confirmation of Spain's energy model, which prioritizes renewable energy sources. Renewables accounted for only a third of Spain's electricity production in 2017, but last year they amounted to 57%.

By 2030, the government wants them to provide 81% of electricity generation.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez summed up his government's approach in response to US President Donald Trump's pro-fossil fuel slogan “Dig, baby, dig”. “Green, baby, green,” said the socialist, pointing out the benefits of renewable energy.

However, Spain's comprehensive commitment to renewable energy has come under scrutiny in recent months. This was largely due to a power outage on April 28 that left homes, businesses, government buildings, public transport, schools and universities in darkness for several hours across Spain and neighboring Portugal.

With the government unable to provide a full explanation for the blackout, the country's energy balance became the subject of intense political debate. Alberto Nunez Feijoo, the leader of the conservative opposition, accused the government of “fanaticism” in pursuing its green agenda, suggesting that over-reliance on renewable energy could be to blame for the incident.

Feijoo and others on the right have advocated for a rethink of the nation's energy model.

Such claims were fueled by the fact that in the week before the blackout, solar generation on the Spanish mainland accounted for a record 61.5% of total electricity.

However, the government and national grid operator Red Eléctrica denied the outage was linked to the dominance of renewable energy in Spain.

“We used a system with higher tariffs for renewable energy. [previously] without any impact on the security of the system,” says Concha Sánchez, Head of Operations at Red Eléctrica. “It’s definitely not a question of how much renewable energy there is at this point.”

Ms Sanchez said the blackout was caused by a combination of problems, including an “unknown event” on the system moments earlier that resulted in abnormal voltage fluctuations.

However, Red Eléctrica and the government are still waiting for reports of the incident, which they hope will allow them to determine the exact cause. A cyber attack has been repeatedly ruled out.

Meanwhile, Spain's electricity mix has changed somewhat since April, with increased dependence on natural gas, reinforcing the view that the country is at an energy crossroads.

Spain's nuclear industry, which currently supplies about 20% of the nation's electricity, has been particularly vocal since the blackout, opposing government plans to close the country's five nuclear power plants between 2027 and 2035.

With many European countries undergoing a nuclear renaissance, the planned shutdown makes Spain something of an exception. The companies that own the Almaraz plant in southwest Spain, which is the first to close, have asked for a three-year extension until 2030. This request is currently under review.

Ignacio Araluche, president of Foro Nuclear, an association representing the industry, says Spain is the only country in the world that plans to close existing nuclear power plants. He believes nuclear energy provides stability while being compatible with the green energy transition.

“It makes sense to combine renewables and nuclear power,” he says.

Mr. Araluche praises renewable energy sources because they require only natural elements to produce electricity, but notes that they cannot operate 24 hours a day or in inclement weather.

“How can you produce energy during hours when renewable energy sources are not producing?” he asks. The answer, he added, is “with a source like nuclear, which doesn't produce CO2 but produces it all year round.”

The political opposition is strongly opposed to stopping the nuclear program. The far-right newspaper Vox, criticizing what it sees as the government's lack of explanation for the April blackout, recently called nuclear power “a critical source of stability.”

Ms Sanchez acknowledges there is room for improvement in Spain's electricity model, pointing to the Iberian Peninsula's relative isolation from the European grid compared to most of its EU neighbours. She also believes storage is an issue.

“While we've taken a good path in installing renewables, we can't say the same for storage,” she says. “We need to encourage the installation of storage systems.”

Spain's political landscape adds an element of uncertainty to its energy future. The Socialist-led coalition has been mired in corruption scandals and its parliamentary majority appears to have collapsed in recent weeks, raising the prospect of early elections in the coming months.

A right-wing government, which polls suggest would be the likely outcome, will almost certainly place less emphasis on renewables and advocate a partial return to more traditional energy sources.

But in the meantime, the transition to renewable energy in Spain continues.

And for Figuelas in Aragon, this means not just cheap and clean energy, but also investment. The city's population of just 1,000 is set to explode, with 2,000 Chinese workers scheduled to arrive to help build a new battery factory that is expected to create up to 35,000 indirect jobs once it is operational.

“This kind of investment revitalizes the area, it revitalizes the construction sector and the hotel business,” says local resident Manuel Martin. “And the energy is free – it just depends on the sun and the wind.”