Pulling the Plug on Renewable Power in Spain

Spain has earned a reputation for leadership in the development of renewables, especially wind and solar powered electricity. But draft legislation introduced last July is the latest in a series of regulatory reforms since 2010 that reduce revenues to existing renewable power generators and that end the previous system of support to new renewable generation. In this comment, David Robinson explains the background to the reform, which aims to stop the tariff deficit, which has reached €30 billion, from growing further. He argues that Spain’s problems in the electricity sector are an extreme and early reflection of structural problems related to EU energy and climate change policies.  Spain’s response addresses only the most visible evidence of the problems – the tariff deficit. However, the EU will soon need to address the bigger problems that lie beneath the surface.

By: David Robinson