{"id":356308,"date":"2026-03-20T15:25:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/356308\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T15:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:25:09","slug":"spain-says-the-sun-shields-it-from-rising-energy-costs-is-that-true-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/356308\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain says the sun shields it from rising energy costs. Is that true? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

To hear Spain\u2019s <\/a>prime minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez<\/a> tell it, Spaniards enjoy an enviable degree of immunity from the high oil and gas prices caused by the war in Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As other world leaders panic over rising fuel costs, S\u00e1nchez says Spain is less at risk because it has shifted so quickly to renewable energy such as solar, wind and hydroelectric power.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpain can demonstrate examples of how investing in renewable energy helps our households experience a lower impact from gas price increases,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said in Brussels on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Last Saturday, for example, electricity in Spain cost roughly seven times less than in France and Germany, S\u00e1nchez said.<\/p>\n

Is S\u00e1nchez right? Kind of …<\/p>\n

S\u00e1nchez has a lot to point to. Spain\u2019s grid operator attributes 57 per cent of the country\u2019s electricity to renewable sources, about 10 per cent more than what the European Union says is the bloc\u2019s average.<\/p>\n

Vast fields of solar panels capture all that Spanish sunshine. Wind turbines dot the sprawling Spanish landscape. Hydroelectric plants capture the power of Spanish rivers. This year\u2019s good weather has allowed Spain to increasingly turn to renewables.<\/p>\n

That, and the 20 per cent of energy Spain gets from nuclear power, has often allowed it to keep its electricity prices lower than places that are more dependent on natural gas, like Britain and Italy.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Fears of prolonged shock to global oil and gas prices deepen amid Middle East attacksOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s only half the story …<\/p>\n

Even in Spain the sun does not perpetually shine. Sometimes, the wind dies down. Droughts happen. During colder times of the year, renewables are insufficient for the electric grid. So nuclear and gas plants need to be kept operating to keep the lights on.<\/p>\n

And this is where things get tricky. In the wholesale energy market, prices are set by the cost of the last energy source that is introduced to the electric grid. Since Spain turns last to gas plants, it\u2019s the gas companies that often set the higher price, driving costs up across the board.<\/p>\n

That is actually good news for solar, wind, hydro and nuclear providers. They get a windfall from the higher prices.<\/p>\n

Consumers get higher electric bills and households often end up paying as much as many of their European neighbours.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the whole story? <\/p>\n

S\u00e1nchez is right that, last Saturday, Spain\u2019s electricity cost much less than in France and Germany. But that\u2019s not always the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s cherry-picking,\u201d said Pedro Linares, professor of industrial engineering at Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid.<\/p>\n

Linares said that Spain was enjoying a stretch of good spring weather with full reservoirs for hydropower after a rainy season. Once summer starts, the reservoirs will provide less power, forcing Spain to rely more on gas.<\/p>\n

Spanish electricity bills are also inflated by taxes and charges that are levied to keep the electric grid running and safe, the professor said.<\/p>\n

And even though Spain\u2019s electric grid is driven mostly by renewables, its homes are still heated and its cars still fuelled by oil and gas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still very much reliant on fossil fuels,\u201d said Linares. \u201cAnd so very much affected by the cost of oil and natural gas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s energy mix can be complicated<\/p>\n

Last April, Spain suffered a blackout that kept much of the country in the dark for up to 10 hours.<\/p>\n

The causes were complex. But what seemed clear was that Spain \u2013 at least for now \u2013 still needs at least some gas and nuclear power in its system to avoid possible imbalances from renewable energy.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To hear Spain\u2019s prime minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez tell it, Spaniards enjoy an enviable degree of immunity from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[246,61,60,32238,82,2846],"class_list":{"0":"post-356308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-pedro-sanchez","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-spain"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}