Europe has a plan for the winter: save gas to become independent from Russia. Households, industry and the electricity that is produced by burning natural gas review their consumption to ensure supply. The problem is that there is work to be done on all fronts. Spain, for example, is the European country that has increased its use of gas for electricity production the most this year in 2022
A 7% more than the average of the last three years. According to the estimate of Brueghelone of the research centers most listened to by the European Union which has its headquarters in the Belgian capital, Spain leads this increase in gas combined cycles compared to the 6% that has increased Croatiathe 5% that has increased this activity both France What Italy and the 4% who have grown Portugal and Austria.
A rebound of this data that does not compensate the 5% drop in gas consumption by Spanish households and industry in the last year compared to the last three years The data offered by the think tank led by Jean-Claude Trichet, former president of the European Central Bank, shows that this increase coincides with the implementation of the European mechanism or gas cap.
In July, the first full month with this mechanism, the increase in the use of gas to produce electricity in Spain was 20% compared to the historical average for that month. That month, a third of the electricity (32%) came from the production of gas combined cycles, which was 164% higher than that of July last year and doubled the figure since the start of 2022. The growth of its contribution to the electricity mix is due to a lower share of other technologies such as hydraulics and the balance of the connection with France, which has imported electricity generated in Spain.
The decrease in reservoir reserves has meant that hydraulic generation has fallen by 51.7% from January to July. On the other hand, cogeneration has reduced its production by 53%, because it has been displaced by combined cycles (CCG)which are more competitive thanks to the effect of the gas cap compensation.
A growth that has been reduced to 15% in August and September. The difference is even greater when compared to last year alone. Iberdrola presented this Friday its energy balance until September, where the combined cycles in Spain had increased their production by 17.8% compared to the same period in 2021.
The greater entry of renewable sources has alleviated the appearance of recent months. Though wind power has generated more electricity than in August and in the hours of solar radiation photovoltaic has led the mix with 30% of electricity production in September, the rest of the hours are dominated by combined cycles.
This September they have generated 68% more than a year ago and lead the mix with 32%. In this way, the thermal gap has risen to 35%, compared to 21.8% in September last year. “Over the next few months Both hydraulic and French nuclear production will remain low, but the increase in wind energy intervention will have a net reducing effect on the cost of the compensation adjustment for the gas price cap. Based on the average of the last five yearswind generation will increase by 50% during the next two quarters compared to this last quarter”, explain the ASE Group analysts.
Spain has been ‘in solidarity’ with gas
Gas consumption in the electricity sector occurs in combined cycle plants, constituting in 2021 24% of the gas consumed in Spain. The Government recognized this Tuesday in its energy security plan that, in the year 2022, “The demand for gas from the Spanish electricity sector has increased mainly due to the increase in electricity exports to neighboring countries, especially France, as a result of the stoppage of part of the French nuclear park, and Portugal, as a result of the low availability of hydraulic resources in Portugal”.
In Spain, the main consumer of natural gas is the industry with 60% of the total consumption, followed by the electricity sector (combined cycle and cogeneration plants) with 24% and finally the domestic, commercial and SME sector with 15%. With these gas needs and with storage at 91%, the Government has set a natural gas saving target of between 5.1 and 13.5% for this winter.
A goal that will be marked by the electricity production capacity of technologies other than combined cycles. If the winter is cold (high demand), dry (low hydraulic production) and with little wind (no wind production), gas will continue to be the main source of electricity production in Spain.
