The Andalusian Energy Agency, a body attached to the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines, has published its annual statistical report ‘Energy Data of Andalusia 2023’, which includes the main magnitudes reflecting the reality and energy evolution of the autonomous community, and which confirms the progression of the Andalusian economy towards decarbonization, thanks to reduced dependence on fossil fuels.
This energy balance highlights that energy intensity, the main indicator measuring the energy efficiency of an economy, continues its downward trend, surpassing once again in 2023 the lowest value in the historical series since records began in 2022 (94.9 tons of oil equivalent per million euros in 2023, compared to 101.9 the previous year). Thus, to generate one unit of GDP in Andalusia, 6.9% less energy was required than the previous year.
This has been made possible by the reduction in consumption, both of primary energy (coal, oil, natural gas, sun or wind), and final energy (which reaches the consumer transformed for use as electricity, liquid or solid fuels), which experienced a decrease of 4.6% and 2.4%, respectively, compared to 2022.
The largest reduction in absolute terms of final energy consumption, including non-energy uses, is led by the industrial sector, with a decline of 10.9% compared to 2022, accounting for 25.2% of all final energy consumed in Andalusia. This decrease occurred in a year when the Gross Value Added (GVA) of the sector, including construction, increased by around 0.3%, highlighting that the Andalusian industrial fabric is growing more sustainably thanks to greater energy efficiency. By sources, the industry reduced its consumption of coal (94.3%), biomass (51.4%), and petroleum products (14.4%), while increasing that of electricity (2.4%) and natural gas (0.6%).
The primary sector, representing 7.1% of final consumption, also reduced its energy consumption by 7.5%. Diesel remains the most used energy source in the sector, at 85%, followed by electricity at 10.6%. For the third consecutive year, the residential sector, representing 13.8% of final consumption, again recorded lower energy consumption, 3.2% less than in 2022.
On the other hand, the services sector, which increased its energy demand by 9.3%, accounts for 10.7% of total final energy consumption. Notable among its sources is the growth in electricity consumption (5.9%), natural gas (17.3%), and liquefied petroleum gases -LPG- (80.8%).
To a lesser extent, the transport sector, representing 43.2% of total final energy consumption in Andalusia, increased its consumption by 1.8%. In this sector, the use of renewable energies increased by 33.2%, although petroleum derivatives continue to be the most used fuels, at 93.7%.
Final energy consumption increased in Málaga (4.3%), Almería (5.1%), Huelva (1%), and slightly in Córdoba (0.2%). In the rest of the provinces, it decreased, especially in Cádiz (9.9%), followed by Jaén (8.5%), Granada (6.3%), and Sevilla (2.4%). Furthermore, Sevilla and Málaga remain the main provinces in energy consumption, followed by Cádiz. Together, they account for 54.2% of the region’s consumption.
Increased penetration of renewables
Additionally, in the statistical report prepared by the Agency, after collecting, contrasting, and analyzing over 3,000 data from its own sources and from more than 40 companies and organizations such as the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the National Commission of Markets and Competition, and Red Eléctrica, among others, it is also noted that, in terms of electricity generation from renewable sources, Andalusia produced 10% more than the previous year, reaching 19,274.6 gigawatt hours (GWh), largely thanks to solar technology.
In this regard, electricity production from photovoltaic sources increased by 45.2% (2,837.6 gigawatt hours) and thermosolar by 13.3% (273.1 gigawatt hours). Conversely, biomass, wind, and hydroelectric generation decreased, partly due to drought conditions that year. This clean electricity generation has led to a 53.5% reduction in CO2 emissions per megawatt-hour in the Andalusian electricity mix compared to 2014.
The ‘Energy Data’ publication is one of the dissemination products included in the Statistical and Cartographic Plan of Andalusia 2023-2029, within the activity carried out by the Statistical and Cartographic Unit of the Andalusian Energy Agency. In 2024, 20 years have passed since the first edition of this report, born with a public service vocation and with the intention of making the necessary statistical information available to society to gain a comprehensive view of the Andalusian energy reality. It can be consulted on this entity’s website, as well as at the provincial level, with a higher level of disaggregation, through the statistical tool ‘Info-Energy’.