A growing part of the renewable electricity produced in Spain is not consumed due to limitations in the electricity grid. The combination of bottlenecks, delays in new infrastructure, and the sharp increase in solar and wind farms is forcing a halt in generation during peak production periods, precisely when progress is being made toward decarbonization.
The impact is significant: this year alone, these opportunities will go untapped. 892 gigawatt hours (GWh) of green energy Due to technical constraints, and analysts estimate that this figure could triple by 2030, reaching 2.869 GWh. A considerable volume in a country that aspires to have a virtually emissions-free electricity system by the end of the decade.
Spain: a leader in renewables, but with wasted energy
The European meta-analysis «The State of European Power Grids: A Meta-Analysis»A study commissioned by Hitachi Energy and prepared by Aurora Energy Research places Spain among the countries most affected by grid congestion. According to the document, the Spanish electricity system faces a fundamental problem: Demand and generation are not in the same places.
While electricity consumption is concentrated in Madrid and the main coastal areasThe bulk of large wind and solar farms have been installed in inland areas and peripheral regions, with lower local demand and less evacuation capacityThis geographical mismatch, coupled with a network that has not adapted at the same pace, often forces us to limit the injection of electricity into the grid.
The head of renewables at Hitachi Energy, Alfredo ParresHe explains that the limited transport capacity and delays in putting new lines into service end up generating bottleneck which force the parks to temporarily stop or reduce production. This is known as "curtailments": forced cuts in generation, even when there is plenty of sun and wind to meet demand, a phenomenon that also affects the distributed wind energy.
Paradoxically, all this is happening in a country that is already... leading Europe in renewable shareLast year, clean energy sources contributed around 57% of the electricity generated, positioning Spain as a leader in the integration of green technologies. However, The report warns that this advantage may diminish. unless investment in transport and distribution networks is clearly accelerated.
The authors' message is clear: without a substantial reinforcement of the infrastructure, Spain risks wasting a significant part of its renewable energy potential just when the energy transition and European industrial competitiveness depend on having affordable, stable and emission-free electricity.
Provinces most affected by lost renewable energy
The effects of these limitations are felt particularly strongly in some provinces of the interior of the peninsula, where the installation of great photovoltaic solar parks and wind powerThese are territories with abundant renewable resources, but still with insufficient grid infrastructure to evacuate all the energy generated.
En 2024, Badajoz It ranked as the Spanish province where the most renewable electricity was left unfed on the grid, with around 177 GWh wastedIt appears very close by Ciudad Real , which lost around 120GWh, according to analysis by Aurora Energy Research for Hitachi Energy.
Following these two provinces, the following stand out Zaragoza, with approximately 143 GWh of unused energy, Soria, with approximately 54 GWh, and Lugo, with around 50 GWh. In all these cases, the combination of high levels of renewable generation and lack of sufficient capacity on the lines Transportation explains a large part of the restrictions.
The report underlines that, without additional investments in network reinforcements, Wasted green energy will continue to grow as new parks come online. The case of Ciudad Real is a prime example: the province has become a renewable energy hub, but the grid is not yet large enough to absorb all the electricity that its solar and wind power plants can supply.
This situation not only has environmental effects, due to the loss of free CO2 generation2but also economic: project revenues are reducedLess favorable price signals are being sent for new investments, and an opportunity to consolidate employment and industrial activity linked to the energy transition in rural areas and inland Spain is being missed.
Europe facing the challenge of untapped renewable energy by 2030
At the European level, the problem of wasted renewable energy by 2030 This is also a concern. The report estimates that in In 2024, 72 terawatt hours (TWh) were lost. of electricity, mostly from renewable sources, due to bottlenecks and limitations in the grid. This figure is roughly equivalent to annual electricity consumption of a country like Austriawhich gives an idea of ​​the magnitude of the challenge.
The root of the problem is similar to the Spanish one, but on a much larger scale: European electricity infrastructure is not growing at the same rate as renewable generation nor of the new demand associated with electrification. In many systems, the transmission and distribution lines were designed with a consumption and production map very different from the current one, with few large fossil and nuclear power plants and less decentralization.
Today, however, the network must be able to connect thousands of onshore wind farms and offshore wind farmsExtensive photovoltaic fields, self-consumption installations, as well as charging managers for electric vehicles, heat pumps or electrolyzers for green hydrogenAll this new electricity supply and demand It puts pressure on an infrastructure that still suffers from years of under-investment..
For Europe to achieve its goal of net zero emissions by 2050The document indicates that it will be essential triple solar and wind power capacity established on the continent, a boost that already reflects the growing demand in the sector of offshore windThis will be accompanied by an increase in electricity demand of over 70%, driven by the electrification of transport, building climate control and some industrial processes.
However, the authors warn that these goals will only be viable if one is addressed simultaneously profound transformation of the transport and distribution networkThis is crucial in terms of both expansion and digitalization, as well as operational flexibility. Otherwise, the clean energy projected for installation by 2030 and 2040 could remain partially underutilized.
Collapse of connection requests and queued projects
One of the most striking findings of the analysis concerns the number of projects seeking to connect to the network, and which, for now, They do not have available capacity. In countries like Spain, United Kingdom, France, Italy and the NetherlandsThe number of pending initiatives has skyrocketed in recent years.
Together, these five markets total around 800 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable projects —mainly solar and wind farms— awaiting connection, in addition to nearly 550 GW of battery projects who also intend to connect to the grid. These amounts far exceed the currently operational capacity, estimated at around 339 GW for solar and wind generation and barely 10 GW of battery storage.
This enormous "connection queue" highlights the gap between climate ambition and the reality of infrastructureMany technically mature projects, with advanced funding and permits, are held up by a lack of capacity to evacuate energy or by complex and slow administrative processes to reinforce the grid.
It's not just generators that have joined the race to connect. large electricity consumers They are also submitting massive applications to connect their facilities to the grid: fast charging points for electric vehicles, data centersfully electric heating and air conditioning, or projects linked to hydrogen from renewable sources.
The report puts the figure at 321 GW connection requests from these large consumers In Europe, this capacity exceeds the peak demand recorded in 2024, which was around 245 GW. This figure reflects that, if all this new demand were to materialize, The system would need to have much more capacity not only renewable generation, but also grid and storage to be able to serve it safely.
Network investment: bottlenecks and needs until 2045
The fundamental question is how much will need to be invested and over what timeframes to prevent a situation where, by 2030 and beyond, wasted renewable energy It continues to increase. In the last five years, European investment in transport and distribution networks has grown by nearly one 47%, until approaching the 70.000 million euros per year.
Even so, Aurora Energy Research's calculations indicate that this figure is insufficient: the current investment would be between a 13% and 44% below what is needed each year to fit with the net-zero emissions path. That is, although the trend is upward, the investment gap persists if compared to what would be needed to support the planned renewable energy rollout.
According to the report, Europe should allocate between 81.000 and 113.000 million euros annually to electrical grids to resolve existing bottlenecks and prevent them from worsening as clean energy generation increases. This investment range would allow for both the reinforcement and digitization of the existing grid and the construction of new lines and substations.
Looking beyond 2030, the study charts a roadmap to 2045 which implies a complete overhaul of the continent's electrical infrastructure. Within that timeframe, Europe would need to install around 465.000 kilometers of transmission lines high voltage, approximately 6,3 million kilometers of distribution lines and over 4 million transformers to meet the growing demand and the massive integration of renewables.
This effort is equivalent, in practice, to redesigning the European electricity grid in a single generationIt's not just about adding kilometers of cable, but also about modernizing equipment, incorporating advanced control technologies, and making the system's operation more flexible so that it can safely handle large volumes of intermittent production and an increasingly electrified demand.
Coordination, planning and more efficient use of the network
Beyond capacity and investment figures, the report focuses on the importance of improve coordination among all actors in the systemThe efficient integration of renewable energy, the electrification of the economy, and the achievement of climate goals depend not only on the money allocated to grids, but also on how their deployment is planned and executed.
The authors emphasize the need to strengthen collaboration between transport system operators (TSOs) and distribution system operators (DSOs)Equipment manufacturers, regulators, renewable energy project developers, and large consumers. Better communication about equipment requirements and development timelines This would allow for reduced delays, avoid duplication, and prioritize actions with the greatest impact in terms of reducing wasted energy.
The study also advocates making the most of available technologies to make more efficient use of the existing networkThis includes automation and digitalization solutions, active demand management systems, distributed energy storage, and flexibility approaches that allow both generation and consumption to be adapted to real-time grid conditions.
In the case of Spain, an improvement in the joint planning of the grid and new renewable projects would help to minimize future congestion in provinces that are already experiencing high levels of generation cuts. This requires anticipating the construction of new lines and substations in areas where renewable energy development is concentrated and along key corridors to major consumption centers.
The report insists that, if progress is made in coordination and adequate investment is accelerated, Wasted renewable energy can be significantly reduced in the next decade, allowing Spain and Europe to fully capitalize on their advantage in solar and wind resources and maintain their competitiveness in the global race for decarbonization.
The data paints a picture in which Spain and the rest of Europe have demonstrated an enormous capacity to deploy renewables, but in which the electricity grid has become the critical element to resolve: without a decisive reinforcement of the infrastructure and better coordination between stakeholders, a growing portion of the Clean energy that could be produced until 2030 will go unused, with direct implications for the energy transition, security of supply and the competitive position of the continent.
