Spain’s total solar PV capacity reached 40.3 GW by the end of 2024, with installations slowing across segments, according to UNEF
Self-consumption installations dropped 31% YoY to 1.18 GW due to stabilized electricity prices and economic uncertainty
UNEF has welcomed the draft Royal Decree on self-consumption but urges broader exemptions and simplified procedures
Despite slower growth, the solar sector contributed €10.7 billion to GDP and supported over 146,000 jobs
Spain’s total installed solar PV capacity reached 40.3 GW by the end of 2024, after adding 7.22 GW during the year, according to the Spanish Photovoltaic Association (UNEF). However, installations slowed across both ground-mounted and self-consumption segments.
In 2024, Spain added 6.04 GW of ground-mounted solar capacity, marking a 1.47% year-on-year (YoY) decline, which ‘hides a complex reality for 2026’. The total ground-mounted installed capacity reached 32.15 GW. The self-consumption segment saw a sharper drop, with installations falling 31% to 1.18 GW.
According to UNEF, the contraction in the self-consumption market was driven by stabilized electricity prices, higher interest rates, and broader economic uncertainty. Despite cumulative capacity in this segment rising to 8.14 GW by the end of 2024, the association warns that Spain remains off track to meet its 19 GW self-consumption target under the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC or NECP) for 2030 (see Spain Set To Target 76 GW Solar PV Capacity By 2030 Under Approved NECP).
Things, however, could get better from here on as the Spanish government’s Royal Decree on self-consumption takes shape. It proposes to extend the maximum distance between 2 installations from 2 km to 5 km. It would also include distributed storage for self-consumption facilities. Currently, the decree is in the draft stage.
Welcoming the progress on the decree, UNEF urged the government to go further by extending the exemption from access and connection permits to all facilities that inject up to 15 kW into the grid, rather than limiting it to those with 15 kW of installed capacity, stressed UNEF Director General José Donoso. The association also called for the application of simplified procedures and compensation mechanisms to all facilities with access capacity of up to 500 kW, with owners assuming full responsibility.
UNEF says energy communities are transforming the electricity system by enabling collective self-consumption and citizen participation. The number of such operational projects grew to 659 in 2024 from about 500 in 2023, but progress remains slow, highlighting the need for a national regulatory framework.
In terms of storage, the pace of installation dropped by 34% last year, with only 327 MW installed. The blackout of April 2025 underlines the importance of expanding storage whose access permit applications now stand strong at over 9.5 GW.
Nevertheless, solar PV represented around 0.7% of the country’s GDP in 2024 with a contribution of €10.7 billion, while scoring €3.4 billion worth of exports of inverters, solar trackers, and other components. It accounted for 146,764 jobs in the sector.
Companies operating in the space allocated €521 million to research and development and innovation (R&D&I), or 3.78% of their revenues.
Going forward, the association points out the growing challenge of an increase in the number of hours with zero energy prices. Donoso shares that by September 2025 alone, 693 zero hours have been accumulated, as many as last year. He explained, “This phenomenon, coupled with low and unstable captured prices, highlights the urgent need to introduce reforms to the electricity pricing system in order to make progress toward meeting the 2030 targets.”
“To reverse this situation, electrifying demand must become a national priority. Grid planning for 2030 shows that 75 GW of connection points have already been granted, compared to a current average demand of just 25 GW,” added Donoso. “Calling for demand-side tenders will help identify viable projects, unlock investment, and drive associated industrialization.”
He also stressed the need for large-scale deployment of storage, which will be key to stabilizing prices and the grid. Auctions, with integrated storage, are also required as bilateral power purchase agreements (PPAs), as a source of financing, slow down.
According to a recent research, GlobalData projects Spain’s solar PV capacity to surge from 21.5 GW in 2021 to 152.8 GW by 2035 (see Spain To Host Over 152 GW Solar PV Capacity By 2035).
