The Spanish government adopted on Tuesday a series of measures to encourage the installation of solar panels to boost self-consumption of electricity by individuals and businesses in the face of the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.
“There is significant interest” in self-consumption, which “is an interesting way to reduce our energy bill”, stressed the Spanish Minister of Ecological Transition Teresa Ribera after the Council of Ministers. However, self-consumption can be encouraged, by putting in place “a simplified regulation,” added Ribera in presenting this series of measures integrated into the energy plan adopted, in accordance with European directives, to reduce the dependence of the EU on Moscow.
The Spanish left-wing government’s plan simplifies the administrative procedures for commissioning installations with a power of less than 500 kilowatts/hour, and encourages the installation of photovoltaic panels in public buildings.
Finally, it plans to encourage “collective self-consumption”, supporting the installation of solar panels in buildings and residences – a decisive choice, given that almost two-thirds of Spaniards live in apartments.
Self-consumption of electricity has been growing strongly in Spain since 2018, when Madrid abolished a decree requiring individuals returning their energy to the national grid to pay a tax, described as a tax on the sun” by its opponents.
According to the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (Unef), the installed capacity for self-consumption reached 1,203 megawatts (MW) in 2021, twice as much as in 2020 (596 MW). This figure is expected to be significantly higher in 2022.
Madrid’s energy plan, which includes energy saving measures to reduce the country’s natural gas consumption by up to 13.5% by March, also extends the cap on the price of gas used for electricity generation until December 2023.
This so-called “Iberian exception” mechanism was introduced in June in Spain and Portugal, with the approval of Brussels, because of the lack of electrical interconnections between the peninsula and the rest of the European Union. It was originally scheduled to end in May 2023.
This derogation regime has allowed electricity prices to fall sharply in recent months in both countries. Several European countries such as France are now calling for its generalization throughout Europe.
