Organizing solar panels on residential buildings offers a clear path to significantly lowering electricity bills. The law supports these installations, making the process more straightforward. Yet some energy distribution companies appear to stall the paperwork, complicating the shift to clean energy, according to one of Europe’s leading collective self-consumption organizations in Spain.
These distributors can slow administrative procedures, sometimes stretching into months. At a press conference, Ecooo’s Self-Consumption Coordinator and a representative from the Employment Department emphasized that, from the perspective of this eco-social asset, collective self-consumption facilities should not take more than two months to activate. The year ahead will mark two decades of promoting energy and economic action rooted in environmental and social objectives.
A seasoned ecosocial organization notes that the movement grew during 2023, building more momentum than the previous year. Although the total number of facilities and overall electricity use declined, three times as many families benefited compared with 2022. The executives at Ecooo attribute this growth to a steadfast commitment to collective self-consumption.
Looking ahead, the aim is to foster local energy communities and establish an energy community in every neighborhood of Madrid and in every town across Spain. The goal is for people to manage their own energy. As part of this effort, the Getafe city council is promoting a local energy community to reduce energy poverty in one of its lowest-income areas, a collaboration in which Ecooo participates.
Europe’s largest collective self-consumption is in Rivas Vaciamadrid
In this region, the project stands out with the La Pablo Renewable initiative in Rivas Vaciamadrid, where Ecooo led a successful program that involved 514 families and deployed 1,800 panels. The installation is designed to generate about 1,286,982 kWh of energy per year.
Feijoo noted that a campaign was necessary to engage Unión Fenosa, and Efe Verde reported that the distributor responsible for activating the installation worked to speed up administrative procedures and meet legal deadlines. Currently, the two-month window required to resolve these issues remains a key target.
Each family invested roughly 2,000 euros per kilowatt of capacity, a figure that becomes visible on the invoice, with an estimated payback period between five and seven years.
In 2023, 365 individuals invested in renewable energy projects nationalized by Ecooo. During that year, the organization signed 520 contracts, distributing 2.3 million euros, and contributing to a reduction of approximately 2,000 tons of CO2. Since the organization’s founding, more than 53,000 tons of CO2 have been avoided.
Self-consumption slows growth after a record year in 2022
Data from UNEF, the primary solar energy association in Spain with more than 815 member companies, showed that 1,706 MW of new solar capacity for self-consumption facilities was installed in 2023. This represents a decline from the record-setting 2022, but remains well above the values seen in 2021.
UNEF notes that industrial self-consumption led the way in 2023 with 1,020 MW added, down 13 percent from 2022, followed by residential installations totaling 372 MW, down 54 percent from the previous year. The commercial sector contributed 291 MW, down 42 percent, while isolated systems added 23 MW, down 8 percent. Taken together, growth slowed by about 32 percent versus 2022 but remained 42 percent higher than 2021.
Additionally, Spain added approximately 84,545 new self-consumption residential facilities in 2023.
The downturn in 2023 is explained by a peak in self-consumption, supported by elevated energy prices driven by the Ukraine crisis and aided by recovery funds. The implementation of these funds helped drive early momentum, but as energy prices stabilized, the growth rate eased. The decline in purchasing power due to inflation and the eventual phasing out of Recovery Funds contributed to a softer growth trajectory, according to industry observers.
The gradual easing of energy prices after 2022 raised questions about long-term demand. Analysts suggest that the perception of high energy costs among citizens has shifted, reducing the urgency some households felt in previous years. As a result, growth in self-consumption is leveling off, though still at higher levels than just a few years ago.
Notes on data collections and projections accompany ongoing efforts to monitor the sector as markets adapt to new price realities and policy changes.
End of report notes include a general contact for the environmental department for internal inquiries.