In 2018 (Royal Decree 15/2018) the right to solar self-consumption was finally recognized in Spain, eliminating the so-called Sun Tax promoted by former Minister Soria. However, it has not been now, with the end of the pandemic and the huge rise in electricity prices, due to the war in Ukraine, when there has been a real avalanche in the Canary Islands to take advantage of the hours of sunshine to lower the electricity bill, in addition with the simplification of all the procedures to legalize an installation and with European and municipal subsidies that lower costs, although not all municipalities, at least in Tenerife, apply subsidies, which in some cases can reach 50% on the receipt of the IBI.
Another of the fundamentals to understand the great demand that currently exists, which is reflected in the waiting list to be attended by an installation company, is that installation costs have been reduced in recent years and technology is now more efficient. , ranging between 5,000 and 6,000 euros the cost of an installation of about five panels for a single-family house with 3.5 Kwh of power, of which approximately 1,300 euros should be deducted from the European subsidy, although this usually takes between six months and a year to come. In the event that exclusive self-consumption is desired – that is, not sending the surplus of the plate to the network – another 6,000 more would have to be added for the batteries, with which an electric car could also be charged, if it had it.
Since the last ten years, according to the 2020 Annual Report of the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF), photovoltaic energy has had a cost reduction of 89%.
Enrique Rodríguez de Azero, president of the Canarian Association of Renewable Energies (ACER), also certifies that the demand to install photovoltaic panels has skyrocketed. “With such an expensive electricity bill, requests for information have increased because logically there is a greater possibility of saving”, insisting that it is “an investment not an expense because at the moment in which you amortize the installation, the electrical energy is cheaper”, he explains. To cite an example, without a battery, an owner of a home that today pays 80 euros a month for electricity could go on to pay 20, a little more than power and taxes, as long as that home is located in areas of Tenerife with more than 10 or 12 hours of sunshine, as usually happens from Santa Cruz to Santiago del Teide, according to Sergio, an installer for a company that works for Iberdrola. That is if that installation does not have a battery, something that Rodríguez de Azero advises, although “little by little, in a modular way. It can be left for a later stage, because it is difficult to amortize it all at once, and a reduction in the cost of batteries is expected, when we get out of this crisis due to the war in Ukraine”, he pointed out.
It must be remembered that there are two ways to carry out the installation, one in which the customer is completely disconnected from the electrical network and supplies himself only with the energy it generates, -for which it will be necessary to install batteries that increase the cost, but they allow the energy generated by the plates to be stored and used when they are not working-, or the most widespread, in which it is still connected to the network to be able to supply itself when the plates are not generating energy by not have sunlight.
How does it work
Solar energy deals with the use generated by a photovoltaic installation for your personal consumption and that directly affects considerable economic and energy savings. A self-consumption installation is made up of photovoltaic panels and a solar inverter. These panels are capable of capturing sunlight, generating energy; The photovoltaic inverter will transform the electrical energy from direct to alternating to feed the electrical network of your home and the electrical appliances. A movement that contributes to maintaining the planet’s ecosystem with responsibility and respect. But, above all, it is an intelligent saving measure that is reflected in the monthly electricity bill. Its operation is very simple. Your home goes to the nearest energy point to supply itself. In other words, it is fed firstly from the self-consumption installation and then, if necessary, from the conventional network. A system that avoids power outages since both complement each other. But, also, your self-consumption installation can generate surpluses that is returned in its proportional part to the conventional electricity network. This compensation influences when your installation does not produce enough energy to feed the network or during night consumption.
Solar energy is green energy: completely free, clean, renewable, non-polluting and unlimited. The self-consumption installation could avoid one ton of CO2 per year for each kilowatt installed. You become energy independent: self-consumption allows you to acquire energy autonomy, either totally or partially, from electricity companies. You decide how and when to consume the energy you store at no cost. The price of each kWh of electricity that solar energy produces is lower than that of the companies. In addition, its cost does not change over the years. Something that you can check in the price of electricity providers. You will notice immediate economic savings. Photovoltaic panels produce electricity from the moment they are installed, although it takes about two months for the legalization to arrive from Industry, which is necessary to benefit from the different subsidies. After having amortized the installation, your energy savings will be net. In addition, having this type of installation means improving the energy certification of the property and increasing its value in the event of sale. The photovoltaic system has a useful life of 25 years. Considerable time to get a return on investment. In addition, to reduce the time of the air conditioning or the fan in summer, the plates absorb most of the solar radiation, so you will notice that the temperature will drop inside your home. To all these advantages we must add that there are subsidies and tax rebates, in addition to the fact that you can finance the plates for up to ten years.
Municipalities
It is not a fad or a recent necessity. Solar energy is in this century a commitment of the different State administrations, including the municipal one, with considerable discounts on the receipt of the IBI (Goods and Real Estate Tax) and even in the ICIO (Construction, Installations and Works Tax) . However, not all apply bonuses and there are differences between those who do. Thus, in Tenerife two municipalities stand out, above the rest, such as Güímar and Santa Úrsula, with a 50% discount on the IBI for 25 years. Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Puerto de la Cruz also reach 50%, but only during the first five years. Candelaria discounts 30% of the IBI for 25 years, while La Orotava does so for the same percentage for 20 years. La Laguna, Granadilla de Abona and El Rosario reduced 25%, but only the first two for five years and the Rosario town hall, for four.
It is surprising and very surprising that two municipalities with many hours of sunshine, and economically sound, such as Adeje and Arona, do not have subsidies for solar energy, although from Arona they point out that “it will be studied if necessary, while the technical conditions allow it” and in Adeje “is already studied.” The Arona City Council recalls that in 2018 and 2019 there were already bonuses and exemptions to the IBI in the municipal section worth one million euros, and from the Adeje town hall, which recently opened “the first citizen energy community in Europe” with plaques on the Music and Dance school building.
At the ICIO, most town halls have discounts ranging from 75% to 95%, in the latter case, in La Laguna and Candelaria.
In this regard, Rodríguez de Azero regrets that “there are still municipalities that do not collaborate in clean energy. It is not understood that they do not lower taxes with the crisis that families are going through and do not bet decisively on renewables.
