Renewables surge in Europe
Europe’s energy transition hit fresh milestones this week—Germany completed a 12 GW wind tender and Spain has doubled its solar and wind capacity in two years, signaling faster-than-expected deployment. Those moves are reshaping grid planning and supply dynamics for energy-intensive industries. (acerbolivio.com)
The “12 GW” figure referenced in recent coverage refers to a planned tender for 12 GW of new dispatchable power-plant capacity agreed in principle with the European Commission on Jan. 15, 2026 — the capacity is intended mainly for gas-fired units under state-aid rules rather than an onshore wind auction. (in.marketscreener.com)) Germany’s system operator and regulator are running separate onshore wind auctions: the Bundesnetzagentur opened a 3.44 GW onshore-wind tender for 2026 and prior bidding rounds submitted more than 8 GW of bids, showing strong developer appetite but continued phased roll-out. (infrastructurebrief.com)) Berlin’s power-plant plan requires new plants to be “hydrogen-ready” with decarbonisation by 2045 and targets commissioning of the first new dispatchable units around 2031 as part of the security-of-supply roadmap. (hydrogeninsight.com)) Spain added 7.3 GW of solar and wind capacity in 2024 alone, lifting photovoltaic capacity to about 31.7 GW and wind capacity to roughly 32.0 GW by year-end, according to grid operator Red Eléctrica. (ree.es)) Renewables supplied a record ~56–57% of Spain’s electricity in 2024, the system exported roughly 10 TWh, and operators commissioned about 487 km of new transmission circuits while installed storage capacity rose to just over 3.3 GW. (renewablesnow.com)) Planners warn of localized congestion and curtailment as a pipeline of new projects — reported in some analyses at roughly 120 GW of approvals or requests — is concentrated in provinces such as Badajoz and Aragón, pressuring regional reinforcement needs. (auroraer.com)) Market signals have shifted: studies show Spain reduced the link between gas and power prices, with fossil generation falling to about 20% of demand and wind+solar covering roughly 46% in H1 2025, and corporate offtake activity (for example an 83 GWh, 10‑year PPA reported in 2026) has increased as firms lock in clean supply. (ember-energy.org))
