Likely to be approved renewable energy plants to generate only 0.29% of goal

Catalonia is still very far from meeting its green transition goals.

Renewable energy plants that are close to being approved for construction will only generate 0.29% of the power required to reach the target of 10,000 MW by 2030, Catalonia's Renewable Energy Observatory warns.

In nine years' time, 50% of all energy consumed in Catalonia should come from renewable sources. This figure needs to increase to 100% by 2050 according to the 2017 Catalan climate change law.

In 2020, only 19.8% of the energy produced in Catalonia came from renewable sources. A year earlier Catalonia's 16% paled in comparison to Spain's 36.9% and the EU average of 35.1%.

Catalonia "is the worst region in Spain by far," in terms of renewables, David Pérez, the spokesperson for the Unefcat solar panel companies' association, said on Tuesday during the observatory's presentation of its report on the state of the green transition in Catalonia.

With only 3 to 5 years left to change its course in order to achieve these goals, the organization believes the Catalan government must push forward with far more wind and solar plants to avoid depending on Aragon or France for energy.

Because of this dire situation, Ester Izquierdo, the president of the Catalan Efficient Energy Cluster, believes a future moratorium on the construction of new plants "could bring renewables in Catalonia to a definitive halt."

This, in turn, could heighten an energy dependency on neighboring regions, especially as Catalonia cuts down on nuclear energy, which is currently its greatest source of power. 

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