The Spanish government establishes in 1 km the limit for shared solar self-consumption

Hello friends, I have been reading many articles about new solar energy orchards in Spain lately.

Around Kusunoki there are also a few, last week they installed a new one.

At Kusunoki we are carrying out a study to expand the installation of solar panels and thus be a little more energy self-sufficient.

I share with you this announcement from the end of 2022 in Spain where the regulation of solar parks for self-consumption is changed. The decree approved by the Council of Ministers with the new measures for energy saving sets the maximum distance at one kilometer to access shared self-consumption through the network of energy generated in low-voltage photovoltaic plants.

The new limit for any consumer to be able to benefit from the energy generated by photovoltaic installations up to a kilometer away doubles the current limit up to now, which was 500 meters, but it is far from what other countries in the immediate vicinity allow. Without going any further, France or Portugal have applied a limit of 2 kilometers for months, which exponentially increases the options for shared solar self-consumption and access to renewables for individuals and companies without access to roofs suitable for photovoltaic installations.

The repeal of the 500-meter limit for shared solar self-consumption is one of the most urgent measures that several autonomous communities such as Valencia had asked the Government in their proposals for the new contingency plan. However, the new threshold is well below what was proposed by the Department of Ecological Transition, which suggested extending the limit to 5 kilometers of distance and 5 MW of power to be able to share the energy generated in solar plants compared to the existing ceiling up to now. of 500 meters and 100 kW.

The More Energy Security plan presented last Tuesday by Minister Teresa Ribera advanced that the 500-meter limit was going to be repealed, but the new distance was not specified, a fact that was known this Tuesday after the approval of the new measures decree against the energy crisis.

Pending the publication of the decree, the Ministry of Teresa Ribera has also advanced that the processing of the facilities is “simplified” by increasing the maximum size of plants exempt from prior authorization and construction to 500 kW.

In addition to the increase of up to 1,000 meters in the distance between the generation point and self-consumption in transmission or distribution lines for rooftop facilities, the Government has also modified the regulations to allow more than one installation to be in the same cadastral reference.

This limitation, which was approved at the time to avoid market fragmentation, prevented growth in places where there was already a photovoltaic plant.