Wind and solar energy generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the European Union (EU) for the first time in 2025. Together, these two energy sources reached a record 30% of electricity generation in the EU, compared to fossil fuels, which accounted for 29%. European Electricity Review, of thethink tankBritish Ember, which offers a comprehensive overview of the electrical system in Europe.

Girona lags behind in green energy investment. Unlike other regions of Catalonia, the Girona district has no operational wind farms and only about ten functioning photovoltaic installations. However, both the Catalan government (Generalitat) and the Ministry for Ecological Transition are currently processing over 200 renewable energy projects that are expected to be implemented in the coming years. Many of these future wind and solar farms have generated controversy, facing opposition from residents and town councils in small villages. Citizens have united in various protest platforms, and last week, more than 40 Girona town councils joined forces to voice their discontent to the Catalan government's delegation. They all reiterate that, despite being in favor of a green transition, the projects planned for their area are "oversized," will damage "the natural environment," and regret that they were designed "without considering the opinions of local communities."

Renewable energy production in Catalonia reached 1,497 GWh in the third quarter. This represents a 4.5% decrease compared to the same period last year, in contrast to the 2% increase across Spain as a whole. This is according to the quarterly report from the Renewable Energy Observatory, prepared by the consultancy firm Opina 360 using provisional data from Red Eléctrica. The main reason for this decline is wind power production, which plummeted by 26.3%.This was mitigated by the growth of hydroelectric power.(16.7%) and photovoltaics (11.3%). This drop in renewable energy generation has caused green energy to lose ground, falling to 14.8% of total electricity generated in the quarter, seven-tenths of a percentage point less than a year ago. In addition to Catalonia, eleven autonomous communities generated less electricity from renewable sources than a year ago, most notably the Basque Country (-22.3%), Extremadura (-14.8%), and the Valencian Community (-14.4%). Conversely, non-renewable generation increased by 0.8 percent thanks to a 22.4 percent increase in combined cycle gas turbines, which offset the decline in nuclear (-1.6 percent) and cogeneration (-11.4 percent). "Catalonia has not managed to consolidate the increase in renewables from last quarter due to the sharp decline in wind power. This hasn't even been offset by the increase in hydropower, fueled by the generous water reserves for 2025," notes the director of Opina 360, whose projects were not yet under Juan Francisco Caro's leadership. "These factors have resulted in a very significant boost to installed capacity," adds Caro.

Donald Trump's anti-green energy policies in the United States are beginning to have a global impact. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has revised downward its forecasts for renewable electricity growth. This agency has cut its estimates for 2030 by 5% compared to the previous forecast. This modification is essentially related to the restrictive policies of the US administration, according to this organization's annual report. In its analysis, the agency highlights that projections for the world's leading power have been cut by almost 50% compared to those made last year.

Catalonia 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.

Schroders Greencoat, a British renewable energy infrastructure management giant, has made a new entry into the Spanish renewable energy business. It has agreed to become a partner with a 49% stake in Repsol's 400-megawatt (MW) solar and wind portfolio. The deal is valued at approximately €580 million.

The Spanish Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, criticised the Catalan Government for not promoting renewable energies and recently wondered in an interview in La Vanguardia if Catalonia expects to depend on Aragon for its energy. In response, the Catalan Minister for Climate Action, Teresa Jordà, has promised to avoid energy dependence on Aragon and defends that Catalonia is committed to "its own model for energy transition".

Currently 19% of the energy that Catalonia consumes is of renewable origin. The European Union (EU) obliges member states, and the government of Catalonia has committed itself to comply with it, to ensure that by 2030 this percentage is at least 50%. Therefore, in just nine years the country has to increase renewable energy by 150%. We are, then, in a desperate race against time that calls for courageous - in some aspects unpopular - and in any case quick and effective decisions. The defence of the territory, often marked by the naturalist spirit (landscaping, environmentalism, cultural heritage), clashes at this time, paradoxically, with the global environmentalist priority of the fight against climate change. It is imperative to put an end to fossil fuels and, therefore, to give a big boost to clean or green energies. Fortunately, now - the cultural change in this field has accelerated a lot in recent years - there is a great citizen consensus in favour of it. The contradiction for many lies in how to reconcile the environmental esteem for their immediate surroundings with the defence of an essential energy change that is also environmental in nature. In fact, it is the general contradiction the country faces, not to say the entire planet. But this cannot paralyse us, it cannot prevent us from moving forward. A serious, informed and honest debate is necessary.

The energy debate will mark the public agenda in the coming years. It is not an easy debate because, as we are seeing these days with the expansion of El Prat airport, with large infrastructures there is no such thing as zero cost. Renewable energies also affect the territory: they are clean, but they are not immaculate. They take up space, they affect the landscape. And at the same time they are very necessary to replace fossil fuels and thus slow down climate change. Moreover, they are cheaper to produce than fossil fuels

Catalonia has historically been a pioneer in many areas, for example with industrialization, but it must be recognized that in renewable energies it has lagged behind other territories of the State, and even more so with respect to the countries of central and northern Europe. The figures are particularly striking. On average, in Spain the installed electrical power corresponding to renewable energies is 54%, but only 30% in Catalonia. Electricity generation from renewables is 44% in Spain and 20% in Catalonia, less than half. In the case of solar energy, the installations in Catalonia represent 1% of the Spanish total, and in the case of wind energy, 4.9%. Before the approval of the decree on renewables in 2019 there was a decade of paralysis in Catalonia that the rest of the territories did take advantage of and that means that now they have a certain advantage over us. It is true that now projects have multiplied, and around the territory there is a proliferation of conservationist entities that reject the facilities because they consider that they spoil the landscape and, in addition, do not offer clear economic improvements for the local population.