Gas in Spain
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Demand for natural gas
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Electricity Generation
Electricity Generation
The generation of electricity at electrical plants (the vast majority of which are combined-cycle plants) accounted for 41.8% of sales of natural gas (an increase of seven points on 2007), coming close to the share taken by the industrial sector.
This increase has been a dramatic one, as illustrated by the fact that in 2000 this share was just 5.3%. Since then it has grown steadily year on year.
By the end of the year, combined-cycle plants powered by natural gas reached a joint potential of around 21,400 MW, spread around 54 generators.
Throughout the course of 2008 there were other external factors that clearly influenced the demand for gas. For example, the increased price of coal on the international markets (in clear conjunction with the rise in oil prices, which reached their highest point in the middle of the year) led to a reduction in its use for electricity production, a factor that benefited natural gas.
Throughout the course of 2008 there were other external factors that clearly influenced the demand for gas. For example, the increased price of coal on the international markets (in clear conjunction with the rise in oil prices, which reached their highest point in the middle of the year) led to a reduction in its use for electricity production, a factor that benefited natural gas.
Source: Enagás/GTS.
The low levels of rainfall during the first part of the year (hydro-electricity production fell by 60% during the first quarter) also led to a rise in the use of natural gas to produce electricity.
The heavy rains of the last quarter of the year led to an increase, of 70% in hydro-electricity production in December 2008.
The production of wind power has also had an effect on demand for natural gas. The amount of electricity produced in this way during the course of the year varied widely.
Over the course of the whole year, production increased by 15.4% (as compared with 18.7% in 2007), though the rise was most marked in December at more than 62%. The amount of wind power generated in 2008 totalled 31.1 TWh.The heavy rains of the last quarter of the year led to an increase, of 70% in hydro-electricity production in December 2008.
The production of wind power has also had an effect on demand for natural gas. The amount of electricity produced in this way during the course of the year varied widely.
This fact, coupled with the increased hydro-electricity production in the last month of 2008 meant that demand for natural gas fell in December by 13% as compared with the same month in 2007 and, as a result, there was no overall growth for the year as a whole.
This reverse, which followed a fall of 7.5% in November, affected the overall result for the last quarter of the year. Nevertheless, sales of natural gas were seen to rise by 17.9% in the first quarter, 17.1% in the second quarter and 15.3% in the third quarter.
By contrast, demand for natural gas during the last quarter fell by 5.7%.
With restricted potential for growth in combined-cycle production (there is a reverse correlation with the cost of using coal, while the use of natural gas is complementary with the use of renewals), and with an industrial sector that is quite heavily affected by the economic crisis, there could be a stabilisation in demand for natural gas in Spain. The forecasts currently being made estimate that demand in 2009 will total 428 TWh, a figure that would represent a fall of 4.7% in comparison with the total for 2008. The greatest decline will be seen in the electricity generation sector (the vast majority of plants being combined-cycle operations), where the fall in demand is forecast at 11.8%.
As already mentioned, preliminary data released by Eurogas shows that Spain came out slightly ahead of the Netherlands in terms of demand for natural gas in 2008, and now occupies fifth position in the European Union, rising from the sixth place that it took over from Belgium. First place in the EU list is occupied by the United Kingdom, followed by Germany, Italy and France.
With restricted potential for growth in combined-cycle production (there is a reverse correlation with the cost of using coal, while the use of natural gas is complementary with the use of renewals), and with an industrial sector that is quite heavily affected by the economic crisis, there could be a stabilisation in demand for natural gas in Spain. The forecasts currently being made estimate that demand in 2009 will total 428 TWh, a figure that would represent a fall of 4.7% in comparison with the total for 2008. The greatest decline will be seen in the electricity generation sector (the vast majority of plants being combined-cycle operations), where the fall in demand is forecast at 11.8%.
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Enagás
Annual Report 2.008: Sedigas - The Spanish Gas Association