Spain has rapidly transformed its energy industry to be a global leader in renewable deployment and to ease its reliance on foreign oil and gas imports. The sun-baked country now sources more than 40 percent of its electricity supply, with more to come. But while this transition has been a boon for the nation’s energy independence, climate goals, and cheap and abundant clean energy, the costs of clean energy production in Spain have become too cheap for their own good. Instead of serving as a green energy inspiration for the rest of the world, Spain’s energy transition has become a cautionary tale about expanding clean energy too much, too quickly.
Wind and solar energy are variable, meaning that their production rates don’t respond to demand, but to independent factors like the weather and the time of day. As a result, production rates frequently outpace demand, and vice versa. At times when the grid is flooded…
