Losing the roadmap: Renewable energy paralysis in Spain and its implications for the EU low carbon economy

After many years at the forefront of renewable energy (RE) implementation both in Europe and worldwide, Spain experienced a sudden transformation in 2012 to its RE development model in which national government backing and financial incentives for renewables were removed, throwing the RE sector into a paralysis which continues to the present day. This is in marked contrast to the case of the other major European RE leader, Germany, where it has been argued that RE implementation has produced a “regime shift” that has transformed the energy generation model to a new resilient pathway. In this paper, key differences between Spanish regions are identified in the way the RE implementation process has been carried out. The research brings these different characteristics into focus and analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the RE implementation process in each region. If stakeholders at all levels are empowered and motivated towards the implementation process goal, it is less likely that a few, very powerful actors (e.g. multinational energy companies or governments) can dominate the process, and thus systemic instability can be reduced. In this way, lock-down situations like the current one can be avoided in future and a more resilient system can be designed. •Spanish renewable energies (RE) implementation is analysed from the point of view of the implementing actors.•National level policy changes have paralysed RE development in Spain.•The Spanish energy transformation has been implemented in a non-reslilient way.•There are substantial differences between the regions in the implementation of RE.•Working at the regional level can help restart Spain's energy transformation.