Between January 1 and May 15, 2023, photovoltaic energy production records were registered in almost all main European electricity markets when compared to the production of this period of the previous five years. These records are the result of the increase in installed capacity registered by this technology. The wind energy, which also increased its presence in the main European markets in recent years, registered production records in Spain and France.
It is no secret to almost anyone that in recent years Europe has given a great boost to renewable energies, mainly solar photovoltaic and wind energy. Initially, the objective was decarbonising the European electricity sector, but after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the energy markets prices crisis that it brought with it, the need to generate electricity with these non?polluting sources to reduce the energy dependency from abroad has also gained weight.
Solar photovoltaic energy production records in Europe in the first months of 2023
In order to quantify the growth of photovoltaic and wind energy in recent years in Europe, at AleaSoft Energy Forecasting the production of these technologies between January 1 and May 15, 2023, was compared with respect to what they produced in the same period of the previous five years, since 2018.
According to this analysis, in 2023, until May 15, the record for solar photovoltaic energy production was broken in most of the main European markets, if compared to the same period of the last five years. The exception was Germany, where the highest photovoltaic energy production in the analysed period was registered in 2022.
In Mainland Spain, 12.5 TWh were generated with solar photovoltaic energy between January 1 and May 15, 2023, which compared to the same period of 2022 represented an increase of 45%, and compared to 2018, of 404%. In France, 6.8 TWh were generated, increasing by 26% compared to 2022 and 135% compared to 2018. In Italy, the solar photovoltaic energy contributed 7.8 TWh to the generation mix until mid?May 2023, standing at 1.0% and 53% above what was produced in the same period in 2022 and 2018, respectively. In Portugal, 1.3 TWh were generated with solar photovoltaic energy, increasing by 47% compared to 2022 and 363% compared to 2018.
The photovoltaic energy production records are the result of the increase registered by the installed capacity of this technology in the main European markets in recent years, standing out the markets of Portugal and Mainland Spain where the increase between 2018 and 2023 was 390% and 350% respectively.
Source: Prepared by AleaSoft Energy Forecasting using data from ENTSO-E and REE.
Data of Mainland Spain until 2023 05 17. In the rest of the markets, data as of 2023 01 01.
In the case of Mainland Spain, the solar thermoelectric energy production in the first part of 2023 was the highest in the last six years, despite the fact that the installed capacity of this technology has remained at 2304 MW during all these years. Between January 1 and May 15, 1.7 TWh were generated, a value 35% higher than that of the same period of 2022 and 45% higher than that of 2018.
Wind energy production records in Europe in the first months of 2023
In the case of wind energy, between January 1 and May 15, 2023, records for maximum production of the last six years were only registered in Mainland Spain and France. In the first case, 25.9 TWh were generated, a production 7.0% higher than that of 2022 and 5.2% higher than that of 2018. In France, the wind energy production up to May 15 reached 18.5 TWh, increasing by 23% and 53% compared to 2022 and 2018 respectively.
Source: Prepared by AleaSoft Energy Forecasting using data from ENTSO-E, RTE, REN, REE and TERNA.
In the case of installed wind energy capacity, there were also increases between 2018 and 2023 in all main European markets. In this case, the largest increases were in France, of 76%, and Mainland Spain, of 28%.
Source: Prepared by AleaSoft Energy Forecasting using data from ENTSO-E and REE.
Data of Mainland Spain until 2023 05 17. In the rest of the markets, data as of 2023 01 01.
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