In 2023, 1,706 MW of photovoltaic self-consumption will be installed in Spain

According to data recorded by the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF), the majority association of solar energy in Spain that already has more than 815 companies, in 2023, 1,706 MW of new installed solar energy power were installed in self-consumption facilities.

According to data collected by UNEF, industrial self-consumption grew the most in 2023 with a new installed power of 1,020 MW (-13% compared to 2022), followed by the residential sector with 372 MW (-54% compared to 2022). ), the commercial one with 291 MW (-42% compared to 2022) and finally, the isolated one with 23 MW (-8% compared to 2022). These data represent a drop in the growth rate of 32% compared to 2022 and an increase of 42% compared to 2021.

For its part, and according to the study carried out annually by the Spanish Photovoltaic Union, the sectoral association considers that in 2023 there would be around 84,545 new residential installations with self-consumption in Spain.

For its part, the sector association wants to emphasize that this trend corresponds to a peak year in self-consumption, which in the two previous years saw its growth boosted by a current situation motivated by the high energy prices generated as a result of the geopolitical crisis of Ukraine and for the aid contemplated for self-consumption within the COVID-19 Recovery Funds.

“We are in a peak year for self-consumption in Spain, although the loss of citizens’ perception of high energy prices, 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 motivates these data,” said José Donoso, general director of UNEF.

For his part, Donoso wanted to remember the need to definitively end the barriers that hinder collective self-consumption in Spain, definitively to ensure compliance with the Self-Consumption Roadmap in Spain, which has been revised upwards in recent months. .

“The 2023 data support the need to adapt domestic self-consumption to the reality of our country’s urban model. In order for us to achieve the objectives of the PNIEC, it is essential to unlock collective self-consumption in our country 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,” he recalls.

Self-consumption is close to the milestone of 7 GW of installed power

Currently, Spain already has 6,955 MW of accumulated power nationwide. A figure that corroborates that, despite the growth rate having slowed down in 2022, Spain is advancing at good speed in meeting the objectives set in the new draft of the PNIEC, revised upwards in 2023, with the aim of accelerating energy transition of our country in record time.

“Self-consumption continues to be profitable for both companies and families, in addition to providing security and economic stability in the face of possible geopolitical crises. However, given the ambitious decarbonization goals that we have to face in the coming years, we need new forms of economic boost that are more efficient, such as tax relief, following the example of countries like Germany and the United Kingdom, which already apply a VAT of 0% 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,” explained Donoso.