Green Energy Milestone: Industry Says Wind is Spain’s Top Electricity Source
Wind farm in the South off Spain. A wind turbine is a rotating machine which converts the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy.
Wind Turbines, Southern Spain (Photo: iStockphoto)[/caption]We’ve heard a lot about recently about the growing pains of renewable power in Europe. Economic woes and low coal prices have combined to whip up a steep headwind for many green energy projects there.
But it’s hardly all bad news for European backers of green energy. Consider this:
In the three months ending January 31st, wind power was the single largest source of electricity in Spain for the first time ever, according to the Spanish Wind Energy Association. In January alone, the association says, Spanish windfarms produced more than 6 terawatts of electricity.
That’s more than a quarter of the country’s power, according to BusinessGreen. That outranks coal and nuclear power and, according to the association, it’s enough to cover the electricity consumption of the majority of Spanish households.