{"id":210826,"date":"2026-03-18T23:07:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T23:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/spain-offers-the-cheapest-wholesale-energy-in-europe-amid-the-hormuz-crisis\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T23:07:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T23:07:14","slug":"spain-offers-the-cheapest-wholesale-energy-in-europe-amid-the-hormuz-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/spain-offers-the-cheapest-wholesale-energy-in-europe-amid-the-hormuz-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain Offers the Cheapest Wholesale Energy in Europe Amid the Hormuz Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div>\n<h2>The Impact of the Hormuz Crisis on Energy Prices<\/h2>\n<p>The outbreak of war in Iran on February 28 and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have plunged the world into an energy crisis of alarming proportions. Amidst this global chaos, Spain stands out as a European nation resilient against rising energy costs.<\/p>\n<h2>A Shield in Front of the Market<\/h2>\n<p>To understand why electricity prices in Spain have not surged like those in neighboring countries, we must delve into the workings of the electricity market. The European system is &#8220;marginalist,&#8221; meaning the most expensive technology needed to meet daily demand, typically gas, sets the final price for all electricity.<\/p>\n<p>Following the onset of the Middle East conflict, gas prices skyrocketed by 55% according to <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/es.euronews.com\/2026\/03\/11\/la-revolucion-renovable-en-espana-mantiene-bajas-las-facturas-de-luz-pese-al-gas\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Euronews<\/em><\/a>. Yet, the impact on Spanish households has been mitigated by a strong share of renewable energy, which now exceeds 60% in the country\u2019s generation mix. Since 2019, Spain has added over 40 gigawatts (GW) of renewable capacity, significantly boosting its wind and solar farms. Additionally, favorable seasonal conditions, highlighted by a robust &#8220;hydraulic cushion&#8221; with reservoirs currently at 82.6% of capacity, have further cushioned prices.<\/p>\n<h2>The Data of the Iberian Exception<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The Spanish Daytime Miracle:<\/strong> Graphs from <em>Energy-charts<\/em> illustrate Spain&#8217;s exceptional performance compared to the rest of Europe. In February and March, the dominance of renewable generation and hydraulic pumping led to periods where prices plummeted from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., even dipping to negative prices as it became more economical for some plants to bid zero rather than incur costs for shutting down.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Fossil Condemnation of Germany and Italy:<\/strong> In stark contrast, data from Germany reveals a heavy reliance on non-renewable sources, leading to consistently high prices. Italy faces a similar predicament, where its dependence on foreign gas anchors its energy prices at high levels throughout the day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The &#8220;Green Shield&#8221; Night Fissure<\/h3>\n<p>However, Spain&#8217;s energy stability is not without vulnerabilities. According to analyst Antonio Aceituno from Tempos Energ\u00eda, the balance shifts when night falls. As solar energy diminishes, gas-fired power plants ramp up to meet demand, causing price tensions. March registered a troubling monthly average of 64.05 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), with nighttime peaks reaching up to 247.15 euros\/MWh. This stark contrast underscores the ongoing reliance on gas and the challenges posed by the Hormuz conflict.<\/p>\n<h2>A Halfway Transition<\/h2>\n<p>The current energy crisis has taught an irrefutable lesson: renewables serve as our best social shield. The strides made in recent years have saved Spain from the financial turmoil felt by its neighbors. As noted by energy financing expert Gerard Reid, it\u2019s preferable to rely on imported solar panels every 25 years than to be perpetually dependent on volatile oil and gas imports from the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, the transition to renewable energy is not yet complete. Due to the lack of substantial storage capacity, the need for gas-fueled power remains when the sun sets. Until Spain can store surplus solar and wind energy effectively, it will remain vulnerable to global market fluctuations, whether triggered by geopolitical tensions or political maneuvers.<\/p>\n<p>Image | Photo by <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@alexispresa?utm_source=unsplash&#038;utm_medium=referral&#038;utm_content=creditCopyText\" target=\"_blank\">Alexis Presa<\/a> on <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/wind-turbines-on-a-dry-rolling-landscape-1_10zyEDtVU?utm_source=unsplash&#038;utm_medium=referral&#038;utm_content=creditCopyText\" target=\"_blank\">Unsplash<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/category\/general\/\" rel=\"dofollow\">General News &#8211; 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Impact of the Hormuz Crisis on Energy Prices The outbreak of war in Iran on February 28 and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have plunged the world into an energy crisis of alarming proportions. Amidst this global chaos, Spain stands out as a European nation resilient against rising energy costs. A Shield [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":210827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[9307,201,57,1147,37277,2563,1694,25918],"class_list":["post-210826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-cheapest","tag-crisis","tag-energy","tag-europe","tag-hormuz","tag-offers","tag-spain","tag-wholesale"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210826"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210828,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210826\/revisions\/210828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}