Spain to phase out coal, nuclear, and oil-fired power plants by 2035

• 2 years ago (2021-10-21)
• David Flin

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The market analysts GlobalData has reported that, based on Spain’s National and Energy Climate Plan, the country is on course to phase out nuclear, coal-fired, and oil-fired power generation plants by 2035.

It said that Spain is scheduled to begin its nuclear power phase out from 2027 and will reduce capacity from 7.1 GW in 2020 to 3 GW by 2030. According to GlobalData, nuclear power provided 22.5 per cent of Spain’s energy mix in 2020. This is scheduled to fall to 7.8 per cent in 2030.

Spain closed seven coal plants with a total capacity of 3.95 GW in 2020. It aims to phase out all coal by 2025.

Gas capacity is projected to remain constant until the end of the decade, with many oil-fired power plants being decommissioned.

Rohit Ravetkar, Power Analyst for GlobalData, said: “The phase out of coal and nuclear plants and the gradual decommissioning of oil-fired plants will be offset with a simultaneous and gradual increase in renewable power capacity. The phase out of coal and nuclear power plants in a short time frame may endanger the supply security of the country. Spain has been a net importer of power since 2016 and its power imports will increase if the generation void caused by the coal and nuclear phase out is not filled by renewable power sources.”