Catalonia did not approve any wind farms in 2024.

BarcelonaCatalonia accumulated a new year in 2024 with little progress in the installation of renewable energies, so it closed the year having achieved only a fifth of the objectives planned for 2030, to the point that last year no new wind farm could be approved due to political and administrative obstacles,'2024 Situation Report' of the Renewable Energy Observatory in Catalonia. The increase in hydroelectric power generation compared to the previous year after three years of drought allowed renewables to reach 19.1% of electricity production and cover 16.2% of production.

In total, therefore, over the next five years, Catalonia will have to multiply its current renewable generation by five, especially wind and solar photovoltaic, if it wants to reach the 35.1 terawatt hours (TWh) target for 2030. And even more if we take into account that the year 2 will come from green sources.

Compared to 2023, electricity demand in Catalonia fell 0.7% last year, to 44.11 TWh, while renewable electricity generation capacity grew 2.19%. In total, 81.92 MW of new energy was installed, of which 30 MW came from wind power, 51.57 MW from photovoltaic power, and 0.35 MW from other green sources.

However, nuclear power remained the main source of electricity in Catalonia, covering 50.3% of total demand, although it fell 1.6% compared to the previous year. There are three nuclear reactors in operation in Catalonia (two in Ascó and one in Vandellòs), which will have to be closed in the coming years. Therefore, the Observatory insists that "the implementation of renewables must be accelerated." "The sector has the technical and financial capacity to do so," it adds, since "the portfolio of onshore wind and solar photovoltaic projects in Catalonia totals 27,193.54 GWh, more than the annual electricity generation of Catalonia's three nuclear reactors operating at full capacity every day of the year."

Secondly, energy imports exceeded all other energy supply sources and covered 15.4% of demand, 1.2 percentage points more than in 2023. Catalonia's import balance was 6,789.79 GWh, 8.1% more than the 8.1% more. "Once again, it is confirmed that Catalonia's energy transition is being slowed down by not meeting the established goals," laments the Observatory.

Renewables accounted for 19.1% of production and 18.6% of demand, higher than the 13.5% in 2023. Hydroelectric power was the main renewable, with 3,599.9 GWh, 62.2% more than a year ago9, and the previous year thanks to the end of the drought, 8.2% of demand, well above the 5% in 2023.

Wind power contributed 2,835.55 GWh to the grid, 7.8% less than the previous year and 6.4% of 2024 demand, and photovoltaic power generated 417. Regarding self-consumption photovoltaic installations, more than 24,610 new installations were created, which increased the total in Catalonia to 126,752, a cumulative capacity of 1,381 MW. Overall, the number of new self-consumption installations fell by 41.7% compared to 2023.

Criticism of the city councils and the Government

According to the Observatory, the lack of progress in renewable energy has "a high social and economic cost for Catalonia" and is the "main risk" to the country's well-being and competitiveness. One of the issues highlighted in the report is "the slowness in processing renewable projects" and the high fees that project developers must pay to the administration, the highest in the country, and which can be up to four times those paid in some autonomous communities. "For a wind farm with very similar characteristics, a developer can pay up to €130,000 in fees in Catalonia, while in autonomous communities such as Andalusia or Castile and León they pay up to €30,000," the Observatory points out in a statement as an example.

The Observatory criticizes the administrations for the "municipal blockage" and the lack of authorizations from the Generalitat (Catalan government). In this regard, it denounces that last year the Generalitat (Catalan government) did not authorize a single onshore wind farm project and that four of the six wind farms authorized in 2023 "have not yet received final approval" from the territorial urban planning commissions (bodies comprising the government and local administrations), when, according to regulations, they should have received approval.

Another four wind farms have not received approval after 21 months of waiting. "The strategy of some municipalities to systematically block the implementation of renewable energy through moratoriums or specific modifications to urban planning with a suspension of up to two years implies the prevalence of a particular or local interest over a general interest," the Observatory states in the statement, describing it as "abuse of a regulation created for tourism." This has meant, in practice, "paralyzing projects with all the procedures completed and with firm authorization from the Generalitat (Catalan government)."