Power network operator
Red Electrica (REE) said Iberian wind farms generated
4,738 GWh of electricity in March to meet 21% of demand, 5%
above the year-ago monthly rate, fueled by heavier winds
than usual.
“As parks spun their blades, the country saved €250m by
lowering its oil-import bill. It also saved 1.7m tonnes of
CO2," according to Spain's Wind Industry Association AEE.
Altogether, clean energy met 42.2% of electricity demand
though this was down from 48.5 percent against March 2010.
Hydropower accounted for 17.3%, solar energy for 2.6%,
nuclear for 19% and coal-powered for 12.9%.
"This historic milestone reached by wind energy shows
that this energy source, as well as being indigenous, clean
and increasingly competitive, is also capable of supplying
power to three million Spanish households," AEE president
Jose Donoso said in a statement.
The production was enough to cover Portugal's monthly
electricity consumption, AEE noted.
Spain is the world's fourth-largest wind-power market.