Electricity sector in Spain
Electricity consumption increased over many years until 2008. However, in 2023 Spain consumed 244,686 gigawatt hours of electricity, a 2.3% decline from 2022.
In 2008, Spain consumed 88% of the average electricity consumption for a European Union 15 country. In 2009, Spain exported about 3% of the electricity it produced. The volume of renewable electricity produced in 2009 was 5% greater than in 2004, and accounted for about 26% of the electricity consumption.
In 2023, renewable energy sources accounted for a record share of the electricity generated in Spain at 50.4%. In the same year, wind farms overtook gas plants as the main source of electricity generation. Gas plants experienced a decline in share from 24% in 2022 to 17% in 2023.
Electricity per person and by power source
In 2008, Spanish electricity consumption was an average of 6,523 kWh/person. Spanish electricity usage constituted 88% of the EU15 average, and 73% of the OECD average. While the amount of nuclear power remained steady at about 50 TWh/year, its share declined notably between 2004 and 2005 as consumption increased. The volume of nuclear power per person has declined consistently during 2004–2009.Mode of production
According to IEA the electricity use in Spain was in 2004 253 TWh, 282 TWh and 288 TWh, while the use was in 2008 in France 494 TWh and Germany 587 TWh.Electricity production from natural gas in 2008 was in Spain 122 TWh, exceeded in Europe only by Russia 495 TWh, United Kingdom 177 TWh and Italy 173 TWh. By 2025, Spain had 6.3 GW hydropower, 7.3 GW of hydro storage and 60 MW batteries. Spain approved new storage legislation after the 2025 blackout, and by the end of 2025, about 0.5 GW was underway. Researchers from the University of Seville calculate that daily price spread would reduce if battery capacity is over 15 GWh, becoming uneconomic beyond 30 GWh.
Transmission
Red Eléctrica de España operates around 20,000 km each of 400kV and 220kV power lines.Spain is technically part of the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe. However, in 2014, Spain had an electricity interconnection level of 2%, effectively islanding the Iberian Peninsula. Spain only connects with Portugal, Morocco and France. As such, the Iberian grid has 3 GW of interconnection.
The 600/900 MW Spain-Morocco interconnection has operated for decades.
The 2 GW HVDC INELEF powerline between Spain and France was opened in 2015.