The Community of Madrid faces an abysmal imbalance between its production of electrical energy and its consumption: it covers less than 2% of its consumption with the renewable energy it produces. In a context of expansion of green energy in a large part of the State, the community generates only 0.4% of the state’s production of this type of energy, with practically zero growth during the last year, while its spending represents more 11% of the total.
The region is at the bottom of Spain in installed renewable energy in relation to its surface area, behind Cantabria, a community that, due to its lower consumption, covers a much higher percentage of its expenditure with the power installed in its territory. Madrid, on the other hand, imports more than 95% of the energy it consumes from other regions.
The latest study published by the Foro Sella Renewable Energy Observatoryin addition to showing this disparity between consumption and generation, points to a notable increase in energy production through cogeneration, causing a decrease in the weight of green energies. At the end of September 2024, Madrid had 233 mega watts of installed renewable power, a negligible amount compared to demand.
Dependence on the rest of the autonomous communities
Spain faces an energy imbalance where regions with abundant renewable resources (such as Extremadura, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha and Galicia) generate much more electricity than they need, exporting between 50% and 180% of their production. On the other hand, communities such as Madrid, Catalonia, the Valencian Community and Andalusia consume significantly more than they produce. This model has caused tensions in exporting regions, which demand economic compensation, such as specific taxes or discounts on electricity bills, for their role in the national energy supply.
According to the most recent data from Red Eléctrica Española, The Community of Madrid produces 4% of the energy it consumes, and less than half through renewable energy. The low production forces Madrid to depend significantly on energy generated in other autonomous communities to satisfy its demand. This dependency represents a problem in terms of security of supply and sustainability, especially in a context where the transition towards clean energy sources is a priority at the state and international level.
In this sense and compared to other regions, Madrid has one of the lowest installed renewable power densities in the country. The shortage of available land, combined with the lack of regulations that favor the installation of sustainable energy infrastructure, has resulted in stagnation in the renewable sector.
This fact, in addition to having an evident effect on the self-sufficiency of the region, also affects the fulfillment of state sustainability objectives, where other communities lead the incorporation of renewable energies while Madrid continues to lag behind.
Despite these high consumption figures in relation to the Community’s electricity generation, the regional Executive shows no signs of intending to reduce electricity expenditure in the community. In this sense, the president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, brought to the Constitutional Court the Energy Savings Decree that the Government approved in 2022, with the intention of reducing energy consumption, for acting in an “arbitrary, authoritarian manner and against businesses.”
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