The government approves 1.32 billion euros in subsidies for solar panels, batteries and renewable air conditioning.
The programmes will have an initial budget of 660 million euros, which can be increased to 1.32 billion euros as the autonomous communities exhaust their initial allocations.
The aid will be divided into six programmes that will distribute a maximum of 900 million for self-consumption, 220 million for storage behind the meter and 200 million for air conditioning and hot water with renewables.
These actions will allow the construction of 1,850 MW of renewable energy, including heating and cooling in more than 40,000 homes.
More than 25,000 jobs will be created, GDP will grow by more than 1.7 million per million of aid and CO2 emissions will fall by more than one million tonnes per year.
The Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), has approved a Royal Decree to grant 660 million euros, extendable to 1.32 billion, in subsidies for self-consumption installations (up to 900 million), behind-the-meter storage with batteries (up to 220 million) and air-conditioning with renewable energies (up to 200 million).. The autonomous communities and cities will disseminate them throughout the national territory until 2023, in accordance with transparent and objective criteria, and will create more than 25,000 jobs, both direct and indirect. Beneficiaries from municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants will get an additional 10% in their allocation.
These programmes, under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan budget, are the first large-scale lines at state level specifically aimed at self-consumption and storage. They have been agreed with the autonomous communities and cities at the Sectoral Energy Conference held on 12 May. The Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) will be responsible for coordinating the actions and monitoring their evolution, in accordance with the procedure successfully used since 2019.
The 660 million initially budgeted will be expandedas the initial amounts allocated to each Autonomous Community are implemented, 1.32 billion of the total programme; the autonomous communities and cities will have to commit 80% of the initial budget during the first year or they will have to reimburse half of the uncommitted amount within 15 months of the publication of this Royal Decree in the BOE (Official State Gazette).
The aid will promote the creation of local jobs and improve the competitiveness of businesses and households by reducing their energy costs. It will also contribute to achieving the clean energy and emission reduction targets set by Spain, whose National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) foresees a share of renewables in final energy use of 42% by 2030. In the case of electricity, clean generation will be combined with 6 GW of storage capacity to facilitate management of the electricity system. On the thermal side, the penetration of 18.9% in heat and cooling supplies in 2019 should double by the end of this decade.
660 million, at a conservative estimate, will allow the construction of 1,850 MW of renewable generation.including the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy for heating and cooling in more than 40,000 homes. They will also generate more than 25,000 direct and indirect jobs, exceeding 45,000 jobs when including induced jobs; GDP will grow from 1.7 to 3.2 million for each million euros of aid materialised. In addition, the facilities to be implemented will reduce CO2 emissions by more than one million tonnes per year and, being in inhabited areas, will reduce impacts in areas without human activity.
Six aid programmes for the installation of solar panels
This aid package will be articulated through six programmes. The first three are aimed at specific economic sectors, based on data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) for 2019, prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, while the last three, aimed mainly at housing, take as a reference the number of main dwellings or households, also based on data from the INE.
It is important to note that the distribution of the budget between the Autonomous Communities and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla is only for the initial allocation of the programme. For future credit extensions, the implementation of the budget and the existing demand in each territory will be taken into account.
- Self-consumption and storage in the service sector. 120 million (20 million for storage).
- Self-consumption and storage in other productive sectors, such as industry or agriculture and livestock.. 175 million (25 million for storage).
- Programme 3. Incorporation of storage in existing self-consumption in economic sectors. It will distribute 45 million among the Autonomous Communities and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
- Programme 4. Self-consumption and storage in the residential, public and third sectors. 215 million (15 million for storage).
- Programme 5. Incorporation of storage in self-consumption in the residential sector, public sector and third sector, 5 million budgeted.
- Programme 6. Air conditioning and domestic hot water obtained with renewables in the residential sector, including subsidised public housing. 100 million.
Subsidies may be granted for investment in equipment and materials; civil works; electromechanical, hydraulic, control and auxiliary equipment; management and monitoring systems; the drafting of projects, technical reports and project management, among other actions.
In order to facilitate the impact of the aid on the national productive fabric and orient it towards environmental improvement, all actions over 100 kW will have to include a public strategic plan indicating the origin and place of manufacture of the equipment and its effect on SMEs and the self-employed. The plan will also detail information on the criteria for selecting equipment and materials based on their environmental impact and durability - such as manufacturer's warranties - and a justification that they comply with the European principle of not causing significant harm.
On the other hand, to increase public information and awareness, all subsidised installations will have to include a monitoring system. In companies and administrations, their performance will have to be displayed on a screen visible to the public or workers; in households it will be accessible via a mobile device.
Amount of the subsidies for self-consumption, batteries and renewable air-conditioning
The intensity of subsidies for renewable self-consumption, battery storage and air conditioning will vary depending on the beneficiary and the type of installation. For companies, a percentage of the initial investment volume - up to a maximum - will be allocated, while for individuals and public administrations a fixed percentage will be subsidised.
In the case of photovoltaic solar energy aid will range from 15% for a large company to 45% for an SME or a small system of less than 10 kW; individuals will be eligible for 40% - rising to 50% for collective self-consumption systems. and public administrations of 70%. The removal of asbestos roofing and the installation of canopies to optimise the use of space, as is often the case in car parks, will be considered.
In the case of wind energy, the subsidy will range from 20% for the largest installation in large companies to 50% for smaller systems for SMEs; private individuals will get 50% and public administrations will get 70%.
In storage facilities behind the meterwhich will generally be batteries, aid for undertakings will vary between 45% and 65%depending on the size of the organisation, while individuals, administrations and third sector entities will be able to benefit from a 70%.
For air conditioning with renewables, the subsidy will depend on the technology used, such as biomass or geothermal energy, and will be from 40% to 70%. Public administrations owning residential buildings will be able to obtain a 70%.
Subsidies for solar panels in villages and small towns
In order to meet the demographic challenge, all the the above items will be increased by an additional 5% in those municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants. and in municipalities with less than 20,000 inhabitants in rural areas where the different population centres have less than 5,000 inhabitants
The lines of aid for individuals, the self-employed and public administrations will come into force the day after the Royal Decree is published in the Official State Gazette. The recipients of the aid will have a period of 18 months to justify the construction of the installations from the moment they are notified of their concession.
Source: MITECO
