Even though that the sun tax was not levied on small installations, now the new regulations allow receiving remuneration for the surplus energy produced.
In 2019, photovoltaic self-consumption in Spain doubled compared to the previous year, according to data registered by the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF). And in a year as complicated as 2020, it grew by 30%. Part of the reasons for this success is the repeal of the so-called sun tax, which has meant that in the last two years the fear of self-consumption has been lost, and has accelerated it significantly. In addition, as we explain in this article, the fact that the new regulation introduces the possibility of installing shared self-consumption in blocks of flats (if the building is suitable for it) and allows obtaining remuneration for the surplus energy generated makes self-consumption go away. more profitable.
What was the tax on the sun?
In Spain, the energy consumption of buildings represents 40% of the total energy consumption, which translates into an environmental impact in greenhouse gas pollution of 36%. If we take into account these data from FIABCI Spain (International Federation of Real Estate Professions), it is essential that photovoltaic self-consumption gains momentum. Even more so in a country with enormous possibilities like this one, which has remarkable renewable resources.
Why does it take so long to take off?
Is this energy very expensive? Was the sun tax a major brake?
The sun tax "for years hampered sustainable renovation in Spain. But, to a large extent, it did so due to ignorance, as it was a tax levied on large solar installations. This is very relevant, because it did not tax installations of less than 10 kWp, but this fact has never been well explained, which meant putting potential customers in fear.
The Royal Decree Law of Energy Transition repealed this tax in 2018 because solar energy, today, is the cheapest that can be produced and it made no sense to penalize an incipient technology to stop it, when it brings us clean, cheap and sustainable energy.
And the future?
It does not seem likely that it could be reinstated, since the entire parliamentary spectrum agrees that self-consumption is part of the solution to the energy problem that Spain has. Rather, if something is done, it will penalize and tax dirtier and more polluting energy sources.
Is it more profitable now to install and use solar energy?
It can be clearly said that today it costs less to install and use solar energy. The reason is that neither large nor small installations have to pay a tax on the sun, which has caused a considerable acceleration of the market. And this acceleration gives rise to the formation of a business fabric that increasingly allows to install in a cheaper and more profitable way.
Now, you can save nearly all of your electricity bill, and the return on investment for your family can be between 10-15% per year of the investment, if you buy the system. If you rent it instead of acquiring it, you save from day one.
But, in addition, the possibility of installing collective self-consumption in blocks of flats is introduced (as long as the building is suitable for it). And you do not lose the surplus energy that you produce - as happened before -, but you can make it profitable. For example, you can have a reduction in your electricity bill equivalent to the surplus you generate and dump on the network.
How much does a photovoltaic installation cost for a family?
There is no longer any doubt that self-consumption is part of the solution to the energy deficit that we have in Spain and the transition towards clean and sustainable technologies, as well as cheap ones. But how much does it cost?
• A normal home has a 3-4 kWp installation (99% of the installations that are made are less than 10 kWp). For this reason, for a type family we can be talking about an average investment of 4,000 euros,
• This represents a saving of about 500-600 euros per year in electricity. This would be the standard model, since each installation has to be sized according to the consumption of each family.
• It is also possible to rent the system, whose monthly fee would cost them less than the savings in electricity bills, so that, without investment, the rent is paying itself,
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