Spain recently shut down
eight of its 15 coal-fired
power stations on grounds
they were unprofitable.
And to comply with
European regulations
on industrial emissions.
The move comes
18 months after
Spain closed down
its last coal mines.
Experts claimed coal
had reached its economic
"tipping point" meaning it
was cheaper to build
renewable energy
sources than
to continue operating
coal-fired power stations.
Ana Barreira, head of the
International Institute
for Law and the Environment
(IIDMA), said the remaining
coal power stations
could be closed down
by 2025.
The decision was taken
by the four Spanish
electricity companies
that own them --
Naturgy, Iberdrola,
Viesgo and Endesa,
a Spanish subsidiary
of Italy's Enel group
-- all of whom
confirmed the closures.
The aim was to avoid
the cost of bringing them
up to date to comply with
a European directive
on cleaning up their
emissions.
Unlike in France or Germany,
the Spanish government
never before set a date
for when such facilities
were to have closed.
These power stations
collectively generated
5.16 gigawatts (GW)
of electric power,
and their closure
will halve Spain's
coal-fired output,
reducing it to
4.7 gigawatts, the
"Coal-Free Future"
coalition said.
June 30 was the last day
of a transition period
for such plants to comply
with a European directive
on industrial emissions.
The firms chose
not to make
the necessary
investments because
they were no longer
profitable.
Most of these plants
had hardly produced
any electricity
in the past few
months.
In 2019, coal only
represented 5%
of Spain's total energy
consumption,
compared with
25% in 2007,
the Red Electrica
power grid said.
Spain remains far from
meeting its commitment
to green its energy sources,
with only 17.4% of the total
coming from renewables
in 2018, the latest available
Eurostat figures show.
It had committed
to raising that number
to 20% by 2020.
Spain had been a pioneer
of green energy
back in the early 2000s,
until the financial crisis
in 2008.
In recent years,
there has been
the development
of huge solar parks
and Spain now ranks
fifth in the world
for wind power
installations.