APPA Renovables says Spain installed 1.43 GW of new solar PV capacity in the self-consumption segment in 2024
This was led by the C&I segment that added over 1 GW of the total, followed by the residential segment with 346 MW
The association demands the government to ease bureaucracy and give tax breaks to increase solar PV adoption for self-consumption
The Association of Renewable Energy Companies, or APPA Renovables, in Spain, counts the country’s newly added self-consumption solar PV capacity to have declined by 26.3% year-on-year (YoY) to 1.431 GW. It takes the total installed capacity of this segment to 8.58 GW.
The battery storage capacity of 155 MWh was also added last year. The 2024 installations were led by the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment with 1.08 GW, while the residential segment added 346 MW. In cumulative terms, these segments now account for 6.3 GW and 2.28 GW, respectively.
Catalonia is the region with the largest installed capacity of self-consumption solar energy with 1.52 GW, followed by Andalusia’s 1.44 GW, and Valencian Community’s 1.2 GW as of 2024-end.
According to the association, this is the 2nd year in a row that the self-consumption segment has experienced a decline. Spain had deployed 1.94 GW capacity in 2023 after reporting a strong addition of 2.65 GW in the previous year.
APPA Autoconsumo President Jon Macías blamed this decline on the end of incentives under the Next Generation program of the European Commission along with electricity prices coming down after the energy crisis in recent years. This is despite the fact that the cost of solar PV technology has been lower than ever.
However, if this situation continues, the association doubts whether Spain will be able to achieve its solar PV self-consumption target of 19 GW by 2030. Macías said to achieve this target, Spain will need to simplify and eliminate bureaucracy and facilitate access to the network.
Additionally, the association demands the government provide tax breaks of at least 25% on corporate tax or personal income tax for consumers.
Spain will need to install 1.7 GW annually till the end of this decade in this segment to achieve the target, recommends the association in its report 2024 Informe Annual Del Autoconsumo Fotovoltico.
The complete report is available on APPA Renovables’ website for free download.