Investment in solar energy
Solar energy is expected to continue this accelerated growth in the next few years. The renewable auctions planned by the Spanish government will award at least 1.8 gigawatts of solar photovoltaic energy per year to interested parties until 2026. In the case of solar thermal energy, this figure stands at roughly 100 megawatts per year. Furthermore, thanks to a decrease in the cost of solar technologies, the subsidy-free market is becoming increasingly competitive.Corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs), a type of contract in which energy developers receive funding from third parties, are also growing in Spain. The country is currently considered one of the most attractive markets in Europe. It has, together with Sweden and Denmark, the cheapest and more competitive prices per megawatt.
Self-consumption of solar energy
The installed capacity for self-consumption of solar energy has also seen a big growth in Spain. In 2022, a total of 2.5 gigawatts for self-consumption were added to the available PV capacity in the country, twice the amount registered in the previous year. This addition elevated the total self-consumption capacity in the country to more than 5.2 gigawatts.This has been possible thanks to the changes in legislation introduced during 2018 and 2019, when the administrative and economic barriers associated with the installation of solar panels for self-consumption were significantly reduced. Regarding the different Spanish regions, the Community of Madrid has the largest potential for solar photovoltaic self-consumption, with a forecast of roughly 2.1 gigawatts by 2030, followed by Andalusia and Catalonia.
