According to data recorded by the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF), the majority association of solar energy in Spain that already has 800 companies, in the first quarter of 2024, the pace of installation of self-consumption in Spain slowed down by 26% compared to the previous year. last year.
For its part, the industrial sector is the one that suffers the most with a slowdown of 30% in the pace of installation compared to 2023, followed by the commercial sector with 22% less and the domestic sector, which suffers a more moderate drop of 15%. .
Given the data obtained by the UNEF Self-Consumption Observatory to know the diagnosis of the sector and apply efficient solutions that help achieve the Self-Consumption Roadmap, UNEF wants to emphasize that this trend must be understood as the natural fluctuation of a sector. which in the last two years saw its growth boosted by a current situation motivated by the high energy prices generated as a result of the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine and by the aid contemplated for self-consumption within the COVID-19 Recovery Funds.
“We are in a moment of stabilization of self-consumption in Spain. The loss of the perception of high energy prices by citizens, as well as the reduction in the purchasing power of families due to the increase in inflation, together with the exhaustion of the aid contemplated within the Recovery Funds motivate these data.”, said José Donoso, director general of UNEF.
The national photovoltaic sector reiterates the need, after the spectacular growth that the sector has experienced in recent years, for public institutions, together with the companies and social agents involved, to draw up a new roadmap based on learning. of recent years that allows finding effective formulas at a regulatory and financial level that make self-consumption continue to be attractive for companies and citizens.
“Once the aid contemplated within the Recovery and Resilience Funds has been exhausted and with the learning obtained about its management, the current trend shows us that we need new, more efficient forms of economic stimulus for self-consumption, such as tax relief, following the example of countries like Germany. and the United Kingdom, which already apply a 0% VAT to these projects, reduce delays in the administrative management of the projects and the homogenization of the 2,000 meters between generation and consumption in all self-consumption facilities.” José stressed Donoso.
A trend that contextualizes the report “InformeSolar. X-ray of Self-consumption in Spain 2024”
According to the report “InformeSolar. X-ray of Self-consumption in Spain 2024” presented today at the UNEF offices and which has been prepared by SotySolar in conjunction with the sector association and Aiko Energy, 22% of Spanish homeowners have installed solar panels or have started the process to install this procedure.
Specifically, 5% already have solar panels installed in their single-family home or apartment, between 1 and 4 years old. Of the rest, 17% are potential consumers of solar energy, since they are seriously considering installing it or are already in the process of doing so, and 78% are not considering it for different reasons.
“The increase in information and knowledge about self-consumption, in particular, and solar energy, in general, leads to an increase in installation interest as demonstrated by the report that we have presented today by SotySolar. A challenge that as a sector, from our companies, public institutions and media, we have to face hand in hand to combat the decreasing trend in self-consumption that we have presented today,” reflected José Donoso.
The report also concludes that economic savings and consumption reduction are the elements with the greatest capacity for mobilization, representing 60% and 40%, respectively. In a second step are reasons related to sustainability (being more sustainable and taking advantage of solar energy), and independence (generating one’s own electricity). Other aspects such as the changing price of energy, and the availability of subsidies or tax benefits are not as decisive when making the decision.
Regarding the barriers detected by this analysis carried out by SotySolar, together with UNEF and Aiko, living in a community of neighbors is the main obstacle for 40% of apartment owners and the high initial investment is for 25%. of the owners of a house.
“This document focuses on the need to adapt domestic self-consumption to the reality of the urban model of our country, with so many neighboring communities. In order for us to achieve the objectives of the PNIEC, it is essential to unlock collective self-consumption and to do so, marketers, distributors and public institutions must be aligned to offer citizens a realistic and efficient alternative to the current energy model,” remembers José Donoso.
