In recent years, Europe has made significant progress in generating renewable energy, especially solar and wind. On paper, this is excellent news. In practice, however, the results are far more questionable. Generating clean electricity is of little use if we are then unable to manage, transmit, or store it.
And this is, currently, one of the major problems facing the European energy system. In Spain, the problem is even more pronounced.
There is a lot of generation, but little management. Thousands of megawatts have been installed in solar plants and wind farms, often very quickly and with substantial incentives. However, investment in the electricity grid and in storage systems to absorb peak production when demand is low has not kept pace.
The result is unsatisfactory: there are times when more energy is produced than the grid can handle, and that electricity is simply lost. Clean, subsidized, and already paid-for energy… that's being thrown away.
From what I've read, in places like California, the rules are clear. Many new renewable energy installations are required to incorporate battery storage. When there's excess generation, the energy is stored. When the sun goes down or the wind lets up, that energy is fed back into the grid.
It's a logical, technical, and economic approach. It doesn't eliminate the problems, but it reduces them drastically. In Europe, and especially in Spain, we've put the cart before the horse: we generate first, then we'll figure out how to manage it later.
We have outdated grids for a new energy system. The European electricity grid (like others) was designed for a centralized model: large power plants, stable generation, and predictable flows. Renewables work in just the opposite way: they are decentralized, variable, and have very pronounced peaks. And this is a change that must be absorbed and managed.
Without a more robust, digitized, and flexible grid, it's impossible to properly integrate this new model. Modernizing electrical grids isn't quick or cheap, but it's essential.
Key facts: Last December, Europe reached record highs in renewable energy generation. In Germany alone, 87 GWh of solar and wind energy were produced on December 25th, an amount equivalent to the daily output of dozens of nuclear power plants. The problem wasn't generating that energy. The problem was what to do with it.
Generating without storing it is throwing money away. Herein lies the crux of the matter: the relationship between generation capacity and absorption capacity. If this balance isn't maintained, we're wasting billions of dollars in investments.
As a consumer, it doesn't do me much good when my electricity company says that more than 60% of its energy is renewable if, at the same time, some of that energy is lost and I pay a higher bill than I should. We all take on that extra cost.
The good news is that the solution exists: more storage, improved grids, interconnections between countries, and much more realistic planning. It's not immediate, but it's perfectly achievable if it becomes a strategic priority.
The bad news is that time is running out, and every year of delay increases the cost of the system and reduces our competitiveness.
In energy, as in almost everything, good intentions aren't enough. Infrastructure, planning, and a long-term vision are essential.
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