For most Spaniards March 20 was a windy Tuesday that has already faded from memory. But for the country’s renewable energy sector it became an unforgettable day when, at 5.40pm, favourable gusts from the Atlantic increased wind energy production to a record high.

At this historic moment, thousands of 100-metre-high wind turbines towering over Spanish hillsides produced 8,375 megawatts of power, representing 27 per cent of Spain’s total electricity supply; more than nuclear, coal or any other single energy source. Just over 72 per cent of the country’s total installed wind capacity of 11,500MW was pumping power into the national grid. Savings in terms of lower imported oil costs and CO2 emissions would also have been at a maximum.