SPAIN

Spain joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) in 2021 and has a national coal phaseout date of 2025. The phaseout of coal plants and mines has been well underway since the government formalized its just transition strategy in 2018, reaching a landmark agreement between the government, employers, and trade unions.

Following the end of European Union subsidies for hard coal mining, almost all of Spain’s remaining coal mines closed in 2018. In 2020, seven coal power plants that were unable to comply with stricter EU air pollution standards were shut down. At the 2023 UN Climate Ambition Summit, Spain formally brought forward its coal phaseout date from 2030 to 2025.

As of December 2025, only two coal-fired units remained in operation in Spain, both located at the Alcúdia power station in the Balearic Islands (Maillorca). These units are scheduled to retire by 2030, meaning that all coal-fired units in Peninsular Spain retired by the end of 2025.

The Parliament of the Balearic Islands adopted a Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition in 2019, and the archipelago has been a member of the PPCA since 2018. However, in April 2025, reporting indicated that the two remaining units at the Alcúdia power station would not be retired until 2030, citing the need to maintain backup generation capacity for system reliability.

As an EU member state, Spain is covered by the European Union’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (“NDC 3.0”), submitted in November 2025, which introduces an indicative 2035 emissions reduction target, reinforces the phase-down of unabated coal power, and reaffirms the objective of climate neutrality by 2050.