Spain embarked on a historic expansion in electricity self-consumption. The boom in the industry meant that almost as much photovoltaic self-consumption was installed in the Spanish market as in all previous dates. In a record 2022, the presence of self-consumption doubled in both the number of installations and accumulated power, and there was an unbridled expansion in both households and companies due to very high electricity prices and high electricity prices. grants distributed from European funds.
Renewable energy companies launched facilities across the country with their combined power last year. 2,649 megawatts (MW) for electricity self-consumption, with 1,625 MW in the industrial area and 1,024 MW in the domestic segment, according to data collected in the I Annual Photovoltaic Self-Consumption Report by employers’ association APPA Renovables. The boom in the sector has doubled the accumulated power of self-consumption in the Spanish market to 5,211 MW,
The overwhelming growth means that there are already more than 298,000 homes in Spain and 54,000 companies already have solar panels that produce all or some of the electricity they consume, lowering their electricity bills in the midst of a crisis. In the last year alone, more than 240,000 new installations were added to the sector (217,250 residential installations and 23,100 installations in industrial area, which includes companies, shops, public administrations and irrigation systems). The investment made last year for the realization of the new facilities amounted to 3,056 million Euros.
Following the acceleration in 2022, the renewable energy sector acknowledges that: This year, the deployment of new facilities began to slow. A slower rate with an uneven effect among different types of customers: while large installations in industrial companies remain strong in their distribution, it is noticed that expansion in the residential segment is slowing. According to employer estimates, Spanish Photovoltaic Association (UNEF), implementation rate of new facilities the domestic market is 15% to 20% lower this year compared to the previous year.
The self-consumption sector itself recognizes that growth in recent years has been unsustainable, with annual average increases of 90% and expansion in absolute terms over the last overwhelming year. Energy companies want to continue to grow in the coming years, but want to maintain it steadily, without excessive spikes that put strain on supply chains and the inclusion of all necessary qualified personnel.
Cheaper than light deterrent
“The situation is normalizing. Last year, the industry experienced an extraordinary peak of activity thanks to two factors: high electricity prices and subsidies from European funds,” he explains. José Donoso, managing director of the photovoltaic association UNEF. Two drivers that have now stopped driving distribution with the same force as last year and have a particular impact on local customers, who are impacted by lower disposable income to face the investment required by inflation and the rise in interest rates.
The electricity price fell significantly from last year’s all-time high, both in terms of wholesale price and final bill paid by consumers. “Prices got cheaper. Not that they’re low, because they’re still above what was considered normal a few years ago, but people’s perception of what something costs has changed. “Consumers are used to these prices,” says Donoso, admitting the frequency of reductions in electricity bills at the pace of implementation of more self-consumption.
“The fall in energy prices prevents the establishment of new power plants, especially in the domestic sector. “If a household is paying less than it did a year ago, there is less motivation to establish self-consumption,” he said. José María González Moya, managing director of the Renewable Energies Association (APPA Renovables). “It shows that last year’s record growth rate is under control.”
Grants are the bottleneck
The central government injected 900 million euros in direct assistance for new self-consumption facilities Charged with the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), financed by European Next Generation funds. The Central Executive approves the budget items, but the distribution among the final recipients is managed by the autonomous communities.
The renewable energy sector warns of delays in payment of aid, administrative bottlenecks in some areas, and also budget depletion in many communities. The government has recently additional 500 million new games for self-consumption subsidies, taking advantage of the Recovery Plan supplement to be approved this week.
“Public aid is being delayed and has already been exhausted in some autonomous communities. In addition, there is already a long waiting list for applications that the new subsidy batch prepared by the Government can consume”, underlines González Moya of APPA Renovables. Acknowledging that congestion is also a deterrent for consumers interested in generating some of their electricity themselves, Donoso says, “CCAAs have had problems managing subsidies, some areas have caught on and processing has been delayed.” . .