7 ms·

Spain as a whole 45 million country with diverse geography and scattered population is producing 75 percent of its electricity from renewables and gas and carbo

by ktzar 2y ago

Spain as a whole 45 million country with diverse geography and scattered population is producing 75 percent of its electricity from renewables and gas and carbon have been down to almost technical zero. It's rained a lot over the last month's and water reservoirs are used as battery. I made a website to track this: https://energy.antizone.online https://energy.antizone.online During the day, a huge chunk of the produced energy is sold to other countries, that's why I claim that 70% of its electricity is from renewables, even though the production share only accounts for 66%.

darkwater 2y ago
> It's rained a lot over the last month's and water reservoirs are used as battery. IN PARTS of the country. In other regions (Catalunya, Andalucia) there is an ongoing drought which is severely impacting everyone and yeah, hydro-electrical companies had done some, let say questionable decisions regarding their water reservoirs.
- ktzar 2y ago
  it's easier to move power than water :-) So as long as it's rained a lot somewhere, that can be used as a battery. Most hydro power plants are not in Catalonia or Andalusia (https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1jVN1LmOoTTqg3eRmubp4pC-HejA&hl=es&ll=40.14414895917617%2C-3.470855999999993&z=6 https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1jVN1LmOoTTqg3e...)
  - darkwater 2y ago
    I'm not saying that water should not be used as a battery. I'm just saying that there is a very serious water crisis in big places in Spain, and to make the people not very familiar with Spain about the difference in weather and climate that exists within the country. Basically, the parts near the Atlantic ocean are always very rainy, and this year some other zone with no sea got a lot of rain, but the Mediterranean coasts have really low raining in general, and in recent years the situation worsened even more.
    - jazzsouff 2y ago
      Water is more and more becoming a scarce resource unevenly distributed. Industrials and agricultural processes, energy storage and domestic consumption are all crucial for the people and the economy.
  - throw0101c 2y ago
    > it's easier to move power than water :-) It's easier to drink water than electrons.
- MaxBarraclough 2y ago
  > IN PARTS of the country Figures. The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. ...I'll show myself out.
schnitzelstoat 2y ago
But the government is closing down the nuclear power stations so we'll be back to gas and coal soon enough!
- mehdix 2y ago
  Why is that a concern if already over 66% of energy is made of renewable sources?
  - bosie 2y ago
    Nuclear helps to reliably produce electricity when there is a peak demand or renewable has a problem producing (no sun, draught)
    - jahnu 2y ago
      There is no need for backup fossil power to account for more than a few percent of electricity production in the medium term. https://www.volts.wtf/p/what-the-sun-isnt-always-shining https://www.volts.wtf/p/what-the-sun-isnt-always-shining
      - helboi4 2y ago
        Nuclear is different to fossil fuel power. It comes from a renewable source. It is bad only because it produced waste, but we're working towards solving this issue.
        wffurr 2y ago
        Uranium is not a renewable resource. All of the uranium on earth was formed in another star’s supernova and seeded in the proto planetary nebula before the earth coalesced.
        the_third_wave 2y ago
        That's why you use a fast neutron (breeder) reactor to extract up to 90% of the potential fissionable "fuel" from that uranium instead of just a few percent. Another option is the use of thorium of which is there is ca. 3 times as much. By the time both uranium and thorium run out there'll either be practical fusion energy or one of those new battery technologies which are always popping up.
cranberryturkey 2y ago
https://brisk.news/read/articles:ykn94y0xr6ex9zt66zfs https://brisk.news/read/articles:ykn94y0xr6ex9zt66zfs
Proven 2y ago
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PunchTornado 2y ago
nice website, would be cool to see at EU level.
- b3orn 2y ago
  https://energy-charts.info https://energy-charts.info and https://app.electricitymaps.com/map https://app.electricitymaps.com/map
rasz 2y ago
Spain and Portugal did something incredibly smart - both went against EU and won right to cap gas price for power production. That way MWh price is 1Euro in Spain right now while 56 in Germany 74 Italy. This one simple trick fixed their grid. Gas turbines no longer generate 24/7 while charging premium and skewing whole market. https://euenergy.live https://euenergy.live
- adrianN 2y ago
  Gas turbines only run when no cheaper alternative can satisfy demand.
  - toomuchtodo 2y ago
    They also run to provide grid inertia when there aren’t enough utility scale batteries or grid forming inverters to do so.

by ktzar 2y ago

darkwater 2y ago

> It's rained a lot over the last month's and water reservoirs are used as battery. IN PARTS of the country. In other regions (Catalunya, Andalucia) there is an ongoing drought which is severely impacting everyone and yeah, hydro-electrical companies had done some, let say questionable decisions regarding their water reservoirs.

ktzar 2y ago
it's easier to move power than water :-) So as long as it's rained a lot somewhere, that can be used as a battery. Most hydro power plants are not in Catalonia or Andalusia (https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1jVN1LmOoTTqg3eRmubp4pC-HejA&hl=es&ll=40.14414895917617%2C-3.470855999999993&z=6 https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1jVN1LmOoTTqg3e...)
- darkwater 2y ago
  I'm not saying that water should not be used as a battery. I'm just saying that there is a very serious water crisis in big places in Spain, and to make the people not very familiar with Spain about the difference in weather and climate that exists within the country. Basically, the parts near the Atlantic ocean are always very rainy, and this year some other zone with no sea got a lot of rain, but the Mediterranean coasts have really low raining in general, and in recent years the situation worsened even more.
  - jazzsouff 2y ago
    Water is more and more becoming a scarce resource unevenly distributed. Industrials and agricultural processes, energy storage and domestic consumption are all crucial for the people and the economy.
- throw0101c 2y ago
  > it's easier to move power than water :-) It's easier to drink water than electrons.
MaxBarraclough 2y ago
> IN PARTS of the country Figures. The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. ...I'll show myself out.

schnitzelstoat 2y ago

But the government is closing down the nuclear power stations so we'll be back to gas and coal soon enough!

mehdix 2y ago
Why is that a concern if already over 66% of energy is made of renewable sources?
- bosie 2y ago
  Nuclear helps to reliably produce electricity when there is a peak demand or renewable has a problem producing (no sun, draught)
  - jahnu 2y ago
    There is no need for backup fossil power to account for more than a few percent of electricity production in the medium term. https://www.volts.wtf/p/what-the-sun-isnt-always-shining https://www.volts.wtf/p/what-the-sun-isnt-always-shining
    - helboi4 2y ago
      Nuclear is different to fossil fuel power. It comes from a renewable source. It is bad only because it produced waste, but we're working towards solving this issue.
      - wffurr 2y ago
        Uranium is not a renewable resource. All of the uranium on earth was formed in another star’s supernova and seeded in the proto planetary nebula before the earth coalesced.
        the_third_wave 2y ago
        That's why you use a fast neutron (breeder) reactor to extract up to 90% of the potential fissionable "fuel" from that uranium instead of just a few percent. Another option is the use of thorium of which is there is ca. 3 times as much. By the time both uranium and thorium run out there'll either be practical fusion energy or one of those new battery technologies which are always popping up.

cranberryturkey 2y ago

https://brisk.news/read/articles:ykn94y0xr6ex9zt66zfs https://brisk.news/read/articles:ykn94y0xr6ex9zt66zfs

Proven 2y ago

[dead]

PunchTornado 2y ago

nice website, would be cool to see at EU level.

b3orn 2y ago
https://energy-charts.info https://energy-charts.info and https://app.electricitymaps.com/map https://app.electricitymaps.com/map

rasz 2y ago

Spain and Portugal did something incredibly smart - both went against EU and won right to cap gas price for power production. That way MWh price is 1Euro in Spain right now while 56 in Germany 74 Italy. This one simple trick fixed their grid. Gas turbines no longer generate 24/7 while charging premium and skewing whole market. https://euenergy.live https://euenergy.live

adrianN 2y ago
Gas turbines only run when no cheaper alternative can satisfy demand.
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  They also run to provide grid inertia when there aren’t enough utility scale batteries or grid forming inverters to do so.