Spain's solar self-consumption sector loses steam in Q1 2024 - UNEF

The rate of self-consumption installation in Spain slowed down by 26% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year, Spanish solar photovoltaic business association UNEF said on Tuesday, citing its own data.

The industrial self-consumption sector marked a 30% slowdown, followed by the commercial sector with 22% less installation, and the residential sector with a 15% decline.

UNEF said that this slowdown should be understood as a natural fluctuation after two years of growth driven by high energy prices due to the war in Ukraine and aid for self-consumption from the Covid-19 recovery funds.

“We are at a time of stabilisation of self-consumption in Spain,” said Jose Donoso, UNEF’s director general.

The public no longer perceives energy prices as high, the purchasing power of families has been reduced due to inflation, and the recovery funds allocated to aid for self-consumption have depleted, Donoso said of the reasons for the first-quarter decline.

Slower growth of the solar self-consumption sector was noticeable throughout 2023. Homes and businesses in Spain installed 1,943 MW of solar self-consumption systems in 2023, or 27% less capacity than in the booming 2022, according to Spanish association of renewable energy companies APPA. APPA also noted that the availability of EU funds and high power prices in 2022 fuelled solar installations that year to 2,649 MW.

The fall from the 2022 highs also affected the financial performance of some solar installation companies, such as the stock market-listed Holaluz Clidom SA (BME:HLZ) and SolarProfit (BME:SPH), who had to lay off staff and cut their targets.

UNEF emphasised the need for new regulatory and financial measures, such as tax breaks, to continue promoting self-consumption using the lessons learned from the years of growth.

A report presented by SotySolar, UNEF, and Aiko Energy shows that 22% of Spanish homeowners have solar panels installed or are considering their installation. Specifically, 5% of them already have solar panels installed in their single-family house or flat, 17% are considering or have begun the installation process, while 78% of homeowners are not considering self-consumption for different reasons.

The main factors driving interest in self-consumption are economic savings and consumption reduction, followed by a desire to be sustainable and energy independent. Factors such as fluctuating energy prices, the availability of subsidies or tax benefits were found not to be as important when it came to the decision to install own solar panel systems.

The main barriers are living in a community and the high initial investment, the report by UNEF, SotySolar and Aiko has found. Donoso urged market participants and public institutions to unblock collective self-consumption and to tailor residential self-consumption to the reality of urban life.

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