STATEMENT: Spain installs fewer solar panels but the photovoltaic sector will continue to boom, according to Evolución Solar

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Although the installation of solar panels in Spain has experienced a slowdown in the last two years, the future of the solar sector in the country remains very promising. With government support and the right conditions, Spain is well positioned to lead the way in the use of solar energy in Europe

Madrid, April 26, 2024.- Spain is the European country with the highest number of hours of sunshine per year on the continent and, therefore, has a natural resource that must be exploited to the maximum for the production of abundant electrical energy. and at low cost through photovoltaic solar panels for self-consumption.

The photovoltaic self-consumption sector is key and strategic for the country and the government is aware of this, since being able to produce electrical energy at low cost will allow the Spanish economy to improve its competitiveness with respect to the other industrial powers in northern Europe that have fewer hours of sunshine per year.

During 2022, hand in hand with the spectacular rise in energy prices due to the war conflict in Ukraine, the installation of photovoltaic solar panels for electrical self-consumption broke all records in Spain. During that year, more than 2.5 GW of new self-consumption power was installed, reaching a total of 25 GW of total photovoltaic power installed throughout the country, including self-consumption installations and solar farms, when in 2019 only There was 10 GW of power.

However, with the entry of 2023, energy prices returned to more normal levels and this factor, together with inflation and the rise in interest rates that made financing projects and facilities more expensive, caused the sector to slow down. photovoltaic. By the end of 2023, only 1.7 GW of new installed self-consumption power was achieved, which represented 30% less compared to the previous year. The drop in the number of installations was particularly pronounced in the residential sector, and in the first 3 months of 2024 the slowdown has continued.

Faced with this situation, solar panel installation companies, which had experienced an increase in their prices during 2022, have received a hard blow to their balance sheets, especially those in the residential self-consumption sector that opted for the continuation of the frenetic level of activity experienced hand in hand with the energy situation. According to Alejandro Duque, manager of Evolución Solar, a Valencian company dedicated to photovoltaic self-consumption installations for the residential and industrial sectors, "the fall in the price of electricity has meant for our company a much lower demand for solar panel installations. for homes. The reduction in demand has been around 50% compared to 2022, however our company continues to carry out installations for the industrial sector at a good pace, such as the one we recently carried out for a factory. of horchata".

Other companies, such as the giants SolarProfit and Holaluz, which specialize in installations for the residential sector, have suffered losses and have been forced to carry out major staff restructuring.

Given this situation, it is worth asking what the future of the photovoltaic self-consumption sector in Spain is for the next 5 years and whether the trend is towards growth in the sector or towards its slowdown.

First of all, it must be taken into account that the government has declared the photovoltaic sector (including self-consumption) as strategic for the country, and the trend is towards continuing to stimulate it through subsidies, bonuses and tax cuts for households and companies. companies that undertake a photovoltaic self-consumption installation.

The government has recently carried out the update of the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan and the photovoltaic target has been increased by 94%, with the photovoltaic self-consumption power target for 2030 set at 19 GW. Therefore, taking into account that there is currently just over 7 GW of installed self-consumption, more than double the self-consumption photovoltaic power still needs to be installed than what is currently installed and it is to be expected that the government will continue to stimulate the sector. in various ways to achieve the objective.

Secondly, despite the spectacular growth experienced by the photovoltaic self-consumption sector in Spain in recent years, the country is still behind in photovoltaic power per capita (per inhabitant) compared to northern countries such as Germany or Denmark, which They have been installing solar panels at a good pace for a long time despite having a lower photovoltaic potential and a lower number of hours of sunshine per year. Spain needs to increase its photovoltaic penetration and self-consumption installations, even more so if the electric car becomes popular.

Finally, energy prices could rise again if geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East continue to escalate, which could have a major impact on the price of oil and gas and ultimately electricity. . Taking these three factors into account, we conclude that, despite the current slowdown in the sector, photovoltaic self-consumption has a great immediate future in Spain.

In summary, although the installation of solar panels in Spain has experienced a slowdown in the last two years, the future of the solar sector in the country remains very promising. With government support and the right conditions, Spain is well positioned to lead the way in the use of solar energy in Europe and continue contributing to the global growth of renewable energy.

Contact

Contact name: Alejandro Duque

Contact description: Solar Evolution

Contact telephone number: 659883841