Renewable energy accounted for 53.6% of Spain's electricity generation in August, rising to 55.1% when self-consumption output was included, grid operator Red Electrica de Espana said on September 5.

Renewable generation excluding self-consumption totaled 1.64 TWh, up 11% from a year earlier, while self-consumption systems produced about 1.6 TWh. Solar photovoltaic remained Spain's largest generation source for a fifth consecutive month, accounting for 29.2% of the national mix, with output up 27.5% year on year to 7.45 TWh.

Solar PV set a new record for maximum daily generation on August 5, producing 281.2 GWh. Combined-cycle gas plants were the second-largest source at 20.7%, followed by nuclear at 18.6%, wind at 13.3% and hydropower at 6.9%.

Generation from sources without CO2-equivalent emissions reached 72.2% of the total, with volumes up 8.2% year on year. Battery storage and pumped-storage hydropower added 954 GWh to the grid during the month, helping integrate renewables.

National electricity demand rose 2.4% year on year in August after adjusting for working days and temperatures, with gross demand reaching 23.14 TWh. In the first eight months of the year, demand totaled 175.86 TWh, up 2.8%.

In the Balearic Islands, combined-cycle plants accounted for 63% of generation, followed by diesel engines at 11.3% and solar PV at 10.6%. Renewable generation rose 20.6% to a 13% share. In the Canary Islands, combined-cycle supplied 35.9% and wind 22.9%, with renewables reaching 28.7% of generation.