Solar power industry soars in Spain

NEW regulations have led to a surge in the solar power industry in the past three months.

Ever since new legislations were put into place by the PSOE government last April, the demand for solar energy self-generation has risen dramatically.

Although it is still early days, the renewed interest has been documented by the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF).

Last year saw 235 megawatts (MW) of new photovoltaic power added to the Spanish grid. This year according to reports there could potentially be in excess of 400 MW.

The new regulations put into place have reduced the price penalties previously involved with utilising solar energy. Equipment has lowered in price including the panels, batteries and set up equipment. Some local authorities are also offering incentives for self-production with lower property taxes for homes with solar systems.

Solar energy installation companies are reporting that they are struggling to keep up with the demand, logging hundreds of inquiries per week and completing at least five new installations per day.

A spokesperson for the renewable energy company Holaluz said that they are being contacted by 300 clients a week requesting a quote, and setting up five systems a day.

They expect to have installed 1,500 systems by the end of the year, and 5,000 by 2021.

Sales director for Red-Fotovoltaica the company responsible for installations for DIY giant Leroy Merlin, José Antonio González has confirmed the increase in popularity.

“We used to get a couple of requests a month, and now we’re dealing with around 20 a day,”

Solar energy is typically used by small to medium businesses and by the industrial sector however residential systems are on the increase too with 10 per cent of homes now using the systems.

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