Spain’s Energy Sources, Industry, and Transportation Networks
Major Sources of Energy in Spain
Spain is poor in conventional energy sources such as oil, coal, and natural gas. While limited in nuclear energy, it has access to enriched uranium abroad. During the 1973 energy crisis, Spain, unlike other countries, increased its oil dependence to 75% by 1980. However, since 1985, declining oil prices prompted Spain to implement cost-saving measures and benefit from new petroleum discoveries. Political and economic issues have also impacted the energy sector.
The main sources of energy are:
- Coal: Accounts for 24% of total energy production. Significant deposits are found in Asturias, Montes de León, Aragon, the Catalan Pyrenees, Navarre, Galicia, and the Balearic Islands. However, domestic coal has low competitiveness, being 15 times more expensive than imports, leading to social problems in the sector. Key issues include deposit depletion, small business operations, decreased demand, and price liberalization within the European Union.
- Oil: Limited deposits are located in Tarragona, Aragon, and Burgos. To mitigate supply risks, Spain has diversified its providers, including Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Iran, Libya, and former Soviet republics. The refinery conversion plan, part of the 1980 sector restructuring, led to the creation of Repsol in 1986 and its subsequent privatization.
- Natural Gas: A more recent energy source, natural gas offers the advantage of being a cleaner fossil fuel with competitive pricing. Imports primarily come from Libya and Algeria. Major challenges include storage and transportation. Its main applications are industrial, electrical, and household.
- Electricity Production: Demand significantly increased in the 1960s due to industrialization and urbanization. Consumption doubled between 1969 and 1976, but the 1972 oil crisis prompted a transition. Today, the energy mix consists of 57.82% thermal power, 28.61% nuclear, and 13.57% hydroelectric. Hydropower is clean, renewable, and instantaneous, but it requires flooding areas and depends on water availability. Electricity from power stations using coal, gas, and petroleum products offers flexibility but is more expensive and polluting. Coal plants are concentrated in the Astur-Leonés basin, while coastal areas host oil and nuclear power plants. Nuclear power provides significant potential and independence but involves foreign technological dependence, safety concerns, social rejection, and waste management issues.
The Spanish Industry
The Spanish industry is undergoing a transformation based on the 3Rs (restructuring, reindustrialization, and regional development), driven by the application of new knowledge and technologies to improve production processes, create new products, and enhance management. Changes in industrial production include the emergence of industries based on new technologies and the rejuvenation of traditional sectors. The production system is shifting towards decentralization and flexibility, with a rise in SMEs and a decrease in the number of large companies. Industrial employment is seeing an increase in skilled workers and technicians. Progressive tertiarization (R&D, design, marketing) is also evident. Industrial policy is characterized by a declining state role, focusing on endogenous development and environmental concerns. The industry has experienced a recovery since the mid-1990s, but traditional problems persist due to structural, territorial, and environmental issues.
Production Sectors:
- Mature Industrial Sectors: These sectors continue their reconversion process, facing challenges such as uncompetitiveness due to technological backwardness, competition from Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs), and liberalization pressures within the EU. Examples include basic metallurgy, metal processing, integrated steel, non-integrated metal transformation, electrical manufacturing, shipbuilding, textiles, leather, and footwear.
- Dynamic Productive Sectors: These sectors have higher future expectations due to high productivity, healthy business structures, and flexibility. Examples include the automotive sector, the chemical sector (petrochemical and chemical metamorphosis), the food industry, and construction.
- High-Tech Sectors: Sectors like microelectronics and biotechnology have been implemented late and exhibit excessive foreign dependence on research and technology. They are dominated by medium-sized businesses or uncompetitive small enterprises, with poor adaptation of the workforce and education system to industry demands.
Currently, Spanish industry faces challenges in adapting to the new technological cycle due to inadequate company size, technological dependence, limited research investment (1% of GDP from the state and little from private enterprise).
Industrial Policy
-declining share of state endogenous development of industry and concern for issues relating medioambientales.Repercusiones-recovery especially industry since the mid 90.los decade of the traditional problems are due to structural problems territorial and environmental production. PRODUCTION-1-mature industrial sectors to continue their process of reconversion: sectors to maintain their production problems due to being uncompetitive by technological backwardness, competition from the NICs, demands for liberalization or reduction in production since the entry into the EU .. basic metallurgy and metal processing, and integrated steel industry non-integral transformed metal industry, manufacture of electrical, shipbuilding, textile leather and industrial calzado.Sectores dynamic-productive branches are those with higher expectations of future (high productivity, healthy and flexible business structures) automotive sector, sector chemical (petrochemical and chemical metamorphosis), food industry, construction. Industries tip-high tech sectors and biotech microelectronicatelematica implanted late and present the “excessive foreign ependencia research and technology-dominated medium business or uncompetitive Peqeña-poor adaptation of the workforce and education system to empresariales.Estructura demands of present-Spanish industry currently hold characteristics that hinder their adaptation to the new cycle tercnologico as the inadequate size of the companies behind the technology-dependent and limited research 1% of GDP in contributions from the state and little investment by private enterprise.Industrial poli tica: Characterized by a decrease of state intervention that simply tries to solve the structural problems, territorial and medioambientales. / To solve the structural problems are working on several side sitios.Por in accelerating industrial restructuring and partly in support PYME. / To try to eliminate environmental problems it seeks sustainable development that would meet the needs of present generations without compromising the development of generations futuras.Para avoid contamination are trying to protect some natural areas banning the industrial use of land, etc.2) Transport in Spain and its role in the scheme area, “Characteristics of the transport network, road-network,-the railway;-shipping ;-water transportation, transportation aéreo.El-transport system is the set of means that enable the movement of people and goods between places geográficos.Se characterized by “a physical environment unfavorable for the ruggedness of the terrain and some elements of the Climate-A radial layout transporte. networks-The prevalence of road traffic in persons and mercancías.-Imbalances regarding territorial calidad.-density and decentralization of responsibilities for transporte.El State reserves the international control and land that runs for more than a community.The CC.AA can acquire exclusive jurisdiction over transportation that runs only in Spanish comunidad.-transport policy is governed by current insfraestructuras.El master plan for which is to increase the speed and interconnection between different medios.-Spanish transport network is integrated into the europea.La European transport policy of the European Union aims to promote the integration of the countries that form and make the transport system respects the environment ambiente.-transport system has an impact on the environment that can be EMDI visual, air pollution or road network acústico.La: is determined by the steepness of the peninsula but the biggest problem is the calidad. / The historical development of road transport part of the layout of the roads romanas.El boosted construction Bourbon reformism new strategic approaches and roads under militares.En 1850 approves the first general plan of roads but the most important advance is given to the dictatorship of Primo Rivera built tarmac circuit for the first automobiles and radial camiones.Se added to the system two sectors: mediterráneo.En Cantabrian and 50 approving the plan to modernize highways for more cars faster, in the 60’s mejoranlos tourist routes and highways are created, in the 70’s REDI program improves firm and signaling ; in the 80 control is transferred to the CC.AA roads except the road network of the State, within 90 approving the plan II State roads for the development of the existing road network autovias.La characterized by”submit a radial pattern centered on Madrid.Ese model starts with Borbones.-The powers on the network are divided between the State and communities autónomas.-The technical characteristics of the roads are variadas.-exist in the territorial Imbalance network density and the density accesibilidad.En have more value the more economically developed communities and those with sparse population and fragmented attention.